Practically Fate
by Blufle
Summary: Between HM 64 and the Mineral Town series, the only couple that stays the same is Cliff x Ann. Coincidence? I think not...
1. Cliff's Arrival

**Practically Fate**

Summary: Between HM 64 and the Mineral Town series, the only couple that remains the same is Cliff x Ann. Coincidence? I think not…

Chapter One

For as long as I can remember, it's always been me and my dad. Whether it was helping him make pancakes every Saturday morning, helping him run the Inn, or playing catch when I was younger, he was always there. Nobody else, just the two of us. And you know, I think I like it that way. I can't imagine trading the rest of the world for anything else. Sure, my dad would love it if I got married, settled down and had some kids. But that's just not the way I am. I need to be free with nothing to hold me down, keep me back. But don't think that means I can't handle guys. No, when it comes to rough housing and being tough, you know, showing 'em who's boss … I'm the queen.

I can hold my liquor just as well as any man (or Karen for that matter). I can out-argue anyone I come across. I can't recall losing an argument ever … except maybe to my dad, but that's only because he's the parent, and I usually let him win. Either that, or he pulls the old, "Because I said so!" Dang I hate that line. But you know, when it comes to being tough, I might be compared to nails. When it comes to being rough, I've got the guts. But when it comes to mushy stuff like love, well, that's just not me. And I don't think it ever will be me.

My dad's always trying to get a date for me, though. One time he set me up with Gray, Lord knows how he pulled that one off. First we had a "romantic" dinner at the Inn, then we watched the stars from the dock on the beach. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I think I scared Gray when I kind of pushed him into the ocean. It was just a playful shove, nothing too hard. Who knew a guy could be so fragile … or a girl so strong. He went home wet, cold, and frightened that night. Needless to say that was my first and only date with Gray. Ever since he's been avoiding me at all costs. Geez, you accidentally push a guy into a freezing cold ocean _once_ and this is how you get treated for the rest of your life.

Man, you should have seen what my dad tried to pull off yesterday. I remember it like it was … never mind. But still, it was pretty far-fetched.

"Ann, honey, could you come here a second?"

"Hold on Dad, I need to finish wiping off this table."

Once the table wiping was done, I took my time getting over to where my father was waiting behind the register and threw the dirty rag on the counter.

"What's up?"

"I don't expect you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Oh, Dad," I whined. "Who did you set me up with this time?"

"A nice young man named Kai."

"Kai? Dad, it's the middle of Spring. You know Kai only shows up during the Summer. And even when he is here, he's always hanging out with Popuri. They obviously have a thing for each other."

"Oh, come on, Ann. It wouldn't hurt just to go on a date with him once he shows up. I'm sure Popuri wouldn't mind."

"Have you seen the way she drools over him, dad?" I said. "Yeah sure, she 'wouldn't mind'. I expect they'd be married by now, if Rick wasn't such a –"

"Concerned young man for his sister's well being?"

"Well, I was going to say overprotective paranoid freak, but that works too."

"You see Ann," he sighed. "That is exactly the kind of attitude that … that…"

"That keeps me dateless?" I filled in the blank for him. He didn't answer. I knew I was right though. So, is that what he thought of me? That I was a girl who could beat 'em up just as good as any guy around but lacked the ability to get a date? And I thought fathers were usually proud of their tomboyish daughters. I guess my dad is the one exception for that rule.

"For your information Dad, I don't mind not having a guy. It suits me just fine. I don't need a guy to feel like I'm worth something. Besides, I like being here and running the Inn with you. If I were to start dating, it'd cut into my work time."

"You know I can handle this place on my own, Ann."

"That's what you think," I retorted. "But how often _have_ you run this place by yourself?"

"Just because you've always been here to help, it doesn't mean I can't do it by myself. You've never given me a chance."

"Dad," I said, smiling. "I don't want to give you a chance. I like working here, I told you. Besides, I thought the only thing that mattered was making me happy." I put on those puppy dog eyes that worked every time.

"Yes, yes, I know that," he said, turning to toy with the register. "I just thought you'd be happier if you had a man in your life."

"I have a father," I said.

"That's not what I mean, you know that, Ann. I thought I'd be fine too on my own when I was your age. I was just as independent as you were. I thought I was happy. Then, well, when I met your mother, I realized I had never been as happy as I was with her."

"Dad please don't bring Mom up," I said, turning away.

"You look more like her everyday."

"Shut up!" I said, running away from him, up the stairs and into one of the spare rooms. I slammed the door behind me and sat on one of the beds with tears on the verge of spilling out of my eyes. I scowled though, daring them to spill down my cheeks, and they never fell. So typical of my dad, to bring up my mom and make me feel guilty. My mom loved children. I'm sure she would have had more if she hadn't died not long after I was born. And I only feel like I'm doing a huge sin when I realize that I'm probably never going to get married and give her grandchildren. I know she's dead, but still. It's like I'm letting her down or something. And letting my dad down, too. But in order to make other people happy, should I sacrifice all that makes me happy? I like my freedom. I like who I am. Why should I change?

I walked out of the spare room that night with a renewed confidence. If I didn't want to get married, then that was all I needed to know. As I sauntered down the stairs, I noticed that my dad didn't have his usual place behind the counter, even though there were plenty of customers sitting at tables. I decided to start waiting on them, not worrying about my dad.

I walked up to Karen and Rick. They were talking happily and laughing.

"Hey guys, what can I get you?"

"We'll just have some wine," Karen answered for the two of them.

"Okay," I said, walking briskly away to get their orders. When I walked back into the kitchen to get some clean glasses, I noticed my dad. He was talking to someone, but I couldn't see who… I hid behind a counter and started eavesdropping.

"Well you can stay here by all means. I can cut your rent down a little bit for the first few months, but after a while, you're going to need to pay it back. After all, I do need to make a living, and I have a daughter to think of."

Oh, so someone was going to rent one of the rooms upstairs? Interesting. The only boarder we really have is Gray and he's only there during the night because he works with his grandfather for the rest of the day. I wonder who this person was. I awaited eagerly for their answer.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

Hm, not much of a talker, this one. It was obvious by his voice that he was a guy. Then it struck me. He was a _guy_. No doubt another guy that my dad would want to force me into dating. I shuddered and quickly grabbed some new glasses before running out of the kitchen.

I filled the glasses up with wine and handed them to Karen and Rick.

"What took you so long?" Karen teased.

I took her comment as serious. "Eavesdropping," I answered casually.

"Really?" Karen said, looking interested. "On who?"

"My dad and some guy."

"Some guy?" she raised her eyebrows. "Do tell."

"Not much to tell. He's just another boarder come to live in the spare room for however long."

"And that's all you got out of the conversation?"

"Hey I only listened for like two sentences," I said in my defense. I sighed, slightly changing the subject. "He's probably a guy that my dad will try to set me up with."

"No offense, Ann," Rick said the first couple words he had spoken to me that night. "But all the guys around here are, well, scared of you."

"Good," I said, trying to act like the comment hadn't affected me. "They should be. They have much reason to fear me."

Karen couldn't help but laugh. "Especially after what you did to poor Gray,"

"That," I said, pointing at her for effect. "was an accident, first of all. Second of all, this guy is new here. If he doesn't even know me, why should he be scared of me?"

"Looks like he already is," Karen sniggered. I turned around and saw him walk out of the room; spiky brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, big brown eyes that were first looking at me, then cast down toward the floor. He shuffled along with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders in a slump. Karen was right, he avoided me on his way over and out the door. I watched him go, internally sighing. And this was the guy that would be boarding here at the Inn? I wonder how long he'll last.


	2. At the Goddess Pond

**I kind of forgot the disclaimer for the first chapter, so it's going to be on the second one. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of the characters **

Chapter Two

I woke up but didn't open my eyes. I lay in my bed, wishing I was still somewhere off in dreamland. The bed was so comfortable and the pillow so soft, I just couldn't bring myself to plop out of bed and start the day. But the alarm clock was ringing incessantly and it was enough to put me out of my comfort. I blindly reached out to stop it, but my hand met nothing. Forcing myself to open my eyes, I grabbed the alarm clock and threw it against the wall. It kept ringing.

"I'm up, okay?" I yelled at the alarm clock. It didn't stop. "Shut up, shut UP!" I yelled some more. I grunted with aggravation and kicked it until it stopped … and broke. It made a dejected _ping_-like noise and sputtered, signaling the end of its ringing life for good.

"Fine you can break for all I care," I muttered, not realizing I was talking to an inanimate object. I got dressed and readied myself for the day, taking great care into combing my hair and putting it in the usual braid. I never left my room without my hair perfectly pulled back and out of the way. I swear I'd cut it all off if it ever got in my face, and to avoid doing that, I keep it that way every day.

I dragged myself out to the hallway and wiped the sleep out of my eyes before approaching my dad. He was in the kitchen, making breakfast.

"So what is it today?" I asked.

"Eggs, bacon, toast, some sausage. What do you think of pancakes?"

"What's all this for?" I asked. "I usually only eat an egg and maybe a piece of toast in the morning." I'm not one for big breakfasts.

"I'll need to get the milk and orange juice, too," my dad muttered to himself.

"Need help?" I asked.

"Yeah, could you scramble up a couple more eggs?"

"Sure," I said. "If I knew why you were doing all this!" I said, determined to know what was going on.

"For the boarder, of course!" he said. "I need to have everything ready for when he wakes up to eat."

"Dad why don't you just ask him what he wants when he wakes up?" I said.

"Don't you remember Ann? It's tradition here. On the first day, the boarders get a free breakfast of everything I can make."

"Oh yeah!" I said, suddenly remembering the age-old tradition we had here at the Inn. "It's just we haven't had a new boarder for a while, so I guess I forgot."

I started scrambling the eggs, humming to myself as I cooked. I was in a considerably brighter mood than I had been a few minutes ago as I woke up. But that's usually how it goes in the morning; I reluctantly wake up, some screaming takes place, I come downstairs, eat and/or cook breakfast, then I go to the spring up in the mountains. There's an old legend that says a the Harvest Goddess lives in that pond, but I've been going there every morning since we moved here, and never have I seen anything that even resembled a spiritual being. All the townspeople here, though, are very traditional and swear up and down that she lives there. Being an official town's person myself, now that I've lived here for many years, I guess I've kind of come to respect that.

I finished scrambling up the eggs and slapped them onto a plate. I brought the plate out to where the new boarder was sitting all by his lonesome at a table. He already had some food out there. I guess my dad brought it out a couple minutes ago. I set the eggs down in front of him and smiled, saying, "Enjoy your breakfast! Are you having a good time here so far?"

He nodded. "This is a nice town."

"Where are you from?" I asked, not recognizing either his clothes or slight accent.

"I'm not from a particular place." He responded. "I'm a traveler."

I nodded. "Interesting." I said. "Well I hope you have a good time while you're here."

"Thank you," he said, and he continued eating. I walked away, back to the kitchen where I found my dad.

"Dad, how come you were telling him you would cut his rent for the first couple _months_ if he travels around and doesn't stay in one place for long?" I suddenly realized what I had just said.

"How did you know I was cutting his rent?"

"Well, last night, I kind of overheard you while I was getting some fresh glasses from the kitchen." I said.

He gave me a look before continuing. "He admitted to me that he wasn't sure how long he'd be staying here, but that he didn't have that much money. So I told him, if he were to stay here for about a year, I'd cut his rent the first couple of months to give him a chance to get a job and earn some money."

"Oh," I said. "And I'm guessing he's staying for about a year?"

"Yes, about that." My dad answered, turning back to cook some more breakfast, this time for him and me.

After eating my own breakfast, I went out to the main Inn room and started walking toward the door, headed for the mountain spring as I did everyday. I was stopped before I reached the door.

"Excuse me, miss," I heard the boarder say. "I heard someone shouting this morning. Is everything alright?"

I felt myself blush as I remembered my rather one-sided conversation with my alarm clock this morning. "Oh, that." I said. "That was just, uh, me. I was still half asleep you see," I said, forcing myself to laugh. "I was having a nightmare."

"Oh," he said. Then he changed the subject, much to my delight. "Is – is there a church around here?" he asked rather shyly.

"Yes," I said. "You go to the town square and head north, and the church is right there." I started for the door again, this time stopping myself. "Oh, and you can call me Ann."

"Cliff," he responded by telling me his name. "Thanks Ann."

"You're welcome," I smiled and left, immediately wiping the smile off my face. Ugh. I hated being so polite to guests. It's not that I wanted to be rude to them, but to be just polite _at all_ was an annoying thing to do. I was glad to finally have some time to myself as I made my way up the mountain and to the spring.

When I got there, Popuri was already sitting down, gazing at her reflection in the water. She was also almost always there when I arrived. We usually had a conversation of some sort; small talk most of the time.

"Hello," she said cheerfully. "Isn't it such a nice morning? It's the perfect temperature for being outside."

"Hey," I mumbled back.

"What's wrong?" the chipper girl asked, concern drawing an odd expression on her face.

"Eh," I said, not sure if I felt like confiding in her. I decided to tell her anyway. "Just a new boarder at the Inn."

"That's so exciting!" she said. "Why is that such a bad thing? I would love it if we had guests staying at our house!"

Typical Popuri. "It's just another person to serve, another person to look out for, another person to be polite to." I shuddered at that last one. "And the worst thing is, he's a young man, about my age. You know what that means."

Quite contradictory to how I was feeling, Popuri started clapping her hands. "Oh that's wonderful! Now you have someone who you can fall in love with!" She put on a dreamy face and she looked so mushy I thought she would burst out in tears any minute.

"No," I said. "That means that my dad will try to set us up and I'll end up scaring him or something. He already looks really timid."

"That makes it even perfecter!" Popuri said. "You two sound like total opposites! And you know what people say about opposites attracting."

"No, what _do_ they say, Popuri?" I said sarcastically. This only caused Popuri to put on a confused face and not say anything. I continued talking. "First of all, there are two things wrong with your theory. One, 'perfecter' isn't a word. Two, I don't care how ideal he might be for me, I'm not going to get married. Ever."

Popuri's eyes widened and she looked at me with her mouth wide open. "W-why not?" She questioned. "Getting married and being in love is wonderful!"

I scoffed. I was about to say, _Like you would know_ when I suddenly remembered that she probably _would_ know. She had Kai after all. So instead I said, "I doubt that."

"But it is!" Popuri insisted. "What's the best feeling in the world, to you, Ann?"

"Well I do feel pretty good about myself whenever I win an argument." I said, smiling at the thought of me triumphing over – well, anybody.

"It's better than that!" she said.

"No!" I said with mock surprise. She could tell I was being sarcastic this time. She made an 'angry face' and crossed her arms. "Look, Ann," she said, being serious. "I really do think you should at least give this guy a chance. If he's the complete opposite of you, he sounds like a pretty nice guy."

I started to sigh with aggravation when I realized she had just insulted me. "Hey!" I said, when she interrupted.

"Let's ask the Goddess. She knows everything."

I rolled my eyes. Here she goes again with this Goddess-is-real stuff again. I couldn't do anything but sit back and watch as I saw Popuri pick a flower and throw it into the pond.

"She likes flowers," Popuri whispered to me and winked like it was some big secret. I just stared back at her and she finally turned around.

"Hello Goddess," she said to no one. "If you're listening, I was wondering, will Ann ever fall in love?"

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I could have sworn I heard a woman whispering into my ear after Popuri asked. But what scared me even more was what I had heard:

_Yes._

* * *

**Btw if I don't get any reviews on this story I'll probably just stop writing it. I know it's kind of boring so far, but it'll pick up. So if you don't want me to stop writing, or if you want to continue reading the story to see if it gets any better, then review or pm me. **


	3. Arrangements

**Well thank you for the reviews, MasterofFantasy and Libra1. Ah you're right I shouldn't have said those things about my own story, heh. But even if I don't get reviews, I hope you keep reading and like it. **

Chapter Three

"What's the matter, Ann? You look as pale as a ghost!" Popuri said. I found myself staring into her face, her big red eyes looking concerned … and kind of evil. I never really noticed that about Popuri. Well, I did, I just never took into consideration that her eyes were _red_ after all.

"I'm fine," I managed to say. I quickly regained my confidence. "Yeah I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. I think I better get back to the Inn though."

"Okay," Popuri said, regaining her normal chipper attitude. "I'll see you around then!"

"Bye," I said and I started walking down the mountain path and back to the Inn. I had to admit, Popuri was annoying most of the time, and her consistent cheerful attitude often got on my nerves, but she was a good friend. But I was the only one I'd ever admit that to. No way was anyone else finding out that I actually considered this red-eyed girly girl my _friend_.

I kept my thoughts to myself as I entered the Inn, trying to forget about the Goddess incident at the pond as well as the fact that Cliff, the new boarder, had heard me yelling at my alarm clock. I sighed as I realized if he wasn't already scared of me, he probably was after hearing that. My dad heard me come in, and heard me sigh, so he approached me and started talking.

"What's the matter Ann?"

"Nothing," I said putting on a face. "I guess I just know it's going to be boring today. You know, the Inn doesn't get that much business. Have you ever thought about advertisement?"

"Not that many people actually live here to begin with," my dad said. "And of the people who are here, they already have homes of their own. They don't need to rent a room."

I was about to say how pointless it was to have an Inn in this town in the first place, but my dad kept talking. "Why don't you take the day off, Ann? Go do something fun."

Fun? In this town, _fun_ was milking a cow. "Like what?"

"Go get better acquainted with Cliff or something. You could show him around."

"Dad," I said. "The guy is obviously intimidated by me. Besides this is probably another scheme of yours to get me hooked up with him."

"That's not true." He said. "I have made a promise to not interfere with your love life while this fellow's around. I know how much you hate it, and I was thinking about what you said last night about being happy as a single person, so I'm going to stop trying."

"For real?" I said. I didn't give him a chance to answer. "Thanks Dad, gotta go!" I ran out the Inn and made for the Town Square. I wasn't sure what I was going to do there, but I'd think of something on the way over.

By now it was about lunch time, and as I made my trip to the Town Square I realized I was hungry. But where was I going to go to get some food? I didn't feel like going back to the Inn, not after I just left the place. Maybe I could have some lunch over at Karen's. Her mom was a good cook after all.

I took the long way, since I was already at the square, by going up north towards the church. When I approached I saw a person coming out of the doors, Carter. And he was with another person who was none other than Cliff. I slowed down when I walked by, sure that Carter would start a conversation with me. Of course, being me, I was right.

"Hello Ann." The priest said. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, Carter." I said, stopping and turning to face them. I squinted a little bit as the sun shone in my eyes. I held my hand up to block it. "Hi Cliff."

"H-hi Ann." He said, not even looking me in the eye.

"Cliff here told me he was a traveler staying at your Inn." Carter said.

"Yup that pretty much covers it." I answered. I tried to sound impatient on purpose so that maybe this guy would get the hint and stop talking to me. It didn't work.

"How nice. It must be interesting to have someone staying at the Inn, especially someone from so far away."

"Oh well yes I guess it is interesting." I answered. The sun seemed to shine brighter and brighter every second. I was sure I would go blind if this conversation kept going. "I was just on my way to the supermarket, though, so if you'll excuse me –"

"The supermarket? Good. Cliff could use someone to show him around this town. Cliff, why don't you go with her?"

"Go with her?" He asked dumbly as if he didn't hear what Carter said. "I –"

Carter didn't let him finish talking. "Good, go along now." He gave Cliff a shove and the poor guy had no choice but to walk over to me. And of course this left _me_ with no choice but to start walking toward the supermarket. As I silently walked with Cliff trailing behind me, I realized Carter was probably in on some deal with my dad about setting me up. Curse him! Hm, that's probably not a good idea to curse him like that, though. He is a priest after all. I've never been to confession in the church but it seems like he's the kind of guy who knows everything about you.

We approached the supermarket and I turned to Cliff, saying, "So, this is the supermarket. I actually was coming here to talk some with my friend and maybe get a bite to eat. You're welcome to join us." _Oh please don't join us._ "But if you want some lunch I guess you should go back to the Inn." _Yes, yes, do that! _"Do you know your way back?"

"Oh, I can find my way," he said, looking dejected. For a split second I felt sorry for him. Here he was, thinking he'd have an enjoyable time with a nice girl who would show him around this town that he would be staying in for the next few months. And I ditched him as soon as I got the chance. My conscience got the better of me. "But, if you want, I can come find you later and give you that tour of the town in the late afternoon." Oh no, what had I just done? I regretted those words the second they came out. This had _awkward_ written all over it.

"That would be nice," he said. "Thanks. I'll probably just be at the Inn the whole day, so…" he trailed off, but I knew he meant that's where I would find him when it came time for the tour of the town. Oh, boy.

I waved by to him and turned to walk into the supermarket. I was closer to the door than I expected and _wham_! I hit the wall with a resounding thud. I guess all that sun in my eyes had gotten the better of me. At least that was the excuse I gave myself for being so clumsy at the worst possible moment. Cliff turned around upon hearing my head hit the solid wall and walked back over to me.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, rubbing my head. I could almost feel a bruise forming.

"Sure about that?" he asked. Wow he was actually concerned about me. But then again I would be too if I heard someone yelling at their alarm clock early in the morning and then saw them ram into a wall a few hours later. I had the feeling he thought I … wasn't normal.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said, trying to sound like I wasn't embarrassed. "Sun just got in my eyes for a second."

"Okay," he said. "I'll see you." And with that he was gone. I stood outside the supermarket for a couple minutes after he left with a pathetic _why me? _look on my face. Why did everything like this have to happen to me right when a nice guy moves into the Inn and – wait a second. Why did I even care what this guy thought about me? He was just another customer at the Inn, no big deal. So I made a fool of myself – twice – in front of him. No reason to get all worried, right? Besides he looked really shy. I don't think he'd go around town telling people that I do these kind of things. Would he? Maybe he's one of those people that appears to be really shy, when in reality they're actually really talkative once you get to know them and befriend them … or maybe I was over-analyzing the situation. I decided that's exactly what I was doing and proceeded to open the supermarket door without a second thought.

"Hey Karen," I said, approaching the back of the room where she usually hung out around this time of day.

"Hey Ann." She responded. "How's that boarder of yours at the Inn? What's he like?"

"His name is Cliff. He's a traveler and he's going to be staying for maybe a year."

"Ooh, where's he from?"

"Um, I don't know. But he's really shy."

"Unfortunately for you," Karen said teasingly.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the comment. Changing the flow of the conversation, I said, "Hey have you had lunch yet? Cuz I'm hungry and I don't feel like going back to the Inn to eat." Hm, I sounded kind of rude, I know. But when I'm hanging out with Karen I don't need to be polite, even when we're at the supermarket or her house (which were actually the same building). We're friends after all, and the way she acts in the Inn when she's drunk, well, it's only fair that she let me act this way in her house.

"No I haven't eaten. Come on let's go get something." We walked into the back of the supermarket where Karen and her family lived. It was a nice little place, complete with a kitchen and various other pieces of furniture, such as beds for her and her family to sleep in.

As we made our way back to the refrigerator, an interesting thought crossed my mind, and I said to Karen, "This might sound weird or stupid or random, or maybe a combination of all three of those things, but … do you believe in the Harvest Goddess?"


	4. The Tour

**Okay all I really have to say up here is that I don't own the song "Miss Independent" or anything like that. So, enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter Four

Needless to say, my question if Karen believed in the Harvest Goddess resulted in a weird conversation. Instead of immediately answering the question, Karen asked me all sorts of questions. "Why, do you? Why are you asking me that? What made you think of that?" I didn't want to answer her questions, so I gave her vague responses. No way was I going to tell her that the Goddess thought I was going to fall in love. According to Popuri she's never wrong, but maybe this'll be the first time. After all, everybody in this town has a partner except me … and Cliff. Oh no. Why didn't I see it before? The new kid comes to town and the bully (me of course) get her just desserts – the cold, hard slap of reality. Just like the song; Miss Independent falls in love. Well I was different. I wasn't going to be that stereotypical girl who thinks she can make it on her own and then ends up drooling over another guy. No, that wasn't me.

Unfortunately after I got tired of hanging out with Karen, I walked home to the Inn, where Cliff was waiting for his mid-afternoon tour of the town. As much as I wanted to avoid him and wait for him to move out of town, I wasn't a complete jerk. No, I made a promise, and I would keep it.

I opened up the double doors and made a grand entrance. Nothing went wrong, actually, though I was half expecting to slip on some inconveniently placed banana peel or something. No one else was in the Inn, except my dad of course. Oh, and Harris the policeman was there, but he's always there around that time; says it's his "fiesta" hour or something. I don't know, he says the same thing every time I talk to him. It gets annoying after, what, the first time?

I didn't bother asking my dad where Cliff was. I figured he was in his room. I walked up and opened the door without knocking; an action that I would later regret. The first thing I saw after opening the door was Cliff with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

I made a weird gasping noise and immediately covered my eyes. "I'm _so_ sorry," I stuttered. My face was on fire. It was like living hell. As if that wasn't a shocker in itself, the next thing he said topped it all off.

"It's okay. I have a towel on at least."

"Well I was just wondering if you were ready for the tour but I see that –"

"It's okay, I just got out of the shower. I'll go get dressed in the bathroom."

"Oh, okay." I said, still covering my eyes like a little schoolgirl. Once I heard him shut and lock the door, I took my hand off my face and tried to calm myself down so that my face wouldn't still be red when he came back out. This certainly was a bad start to what I hope wasn't going to be a long, awkward afternoon.

When he came back out I was sitting, with very good posture might I add, on a chair in the corner of the room. As he walked out and over to me, I stood up and did a cheesy smile. "Heh, sorry."

"It's okay," he said looking down at his shoes as if he just realized the crudeness of the situation. I noticed the radio was on in his room. The song playing was "Miss Independent." I thought back to my earlier parallelism and couldn't help but smile at my genius. It was like I was psychic or something.

"What's so funny?" he asked, noticing my out-of-place smile.

I immediately wiped the smile off my face. "Oh nothing." I said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah I'm ready," he said, and we walked out of his room and down the stairs. We left the Inn and I decided to start with the Winery and make up the rest as I went along. After showing him the Winery, I walked him up to the library, Ellen's house, and those various other buildings along that road. Then we went down into the Town Square and I showed him the beach really quick. We didn't bother going to Kai's place (which was closed because it wasn't summer) and Zach's house. They were pretty pointless to tell him about anyway.

Then we took that road down to old Barley's farm where May wanted us to stay and play with her. I told her we were busy, though, and she understood. She's very mature for her age. Actually I'm not sure how old she is, but she seems mature enough.

Next we went to the Poultry Farm and I introduced her to Rick and Lillia. Lucky for me, Popuri wasn't there at the moment. If she was there, our five minute visit would have ended up being at least an hour long. And who knows what sort of embarrassing things Popuri might have told Cliff about me. After all, Popuri is one of the people who thinks me and Cliff would make a good couple. Considering all the other embarrassing things that had already happened to me today, I would say it's a new record. I didn't want to set another one any time soon.

We left the Poultry Farm and we walked through the empty farm lot back to Gotz the woodcutter's house. I love that empty farm, I don't know why. But it's a nice place and has a rustic charm of its own. It would be even better if someone bought the place and made it a thriving farm once again. But I don't think anyone is going to do that any time soon. The ad in the newspaper does make it sound exciting, but all the people that come to check it out always turn it down. I wonder if anyone will ever be gullible enough to buy it without checking out first. Not likely.

Cliff seemed to be drawn to the empty farm too. He kind of slowed down his walking (as if he wasn't already shuffling along) and raised up his head to look around. I was wondering if maybe _he_ was thinking of buying it so that he could live here forever. I actually wouldn't mind that too much. I know, I already made such a big deal about how he was just another thorn in my side, but that's at the Inn. If he actually moved here and I didn't have to look out for him everyday, that wouldn't be so bad.

Anyway, I had planned that Gotz's place would be the last stop on the tour, but conversation ensued and, well, I saw that there was still going to be more to the tour.

"Gotz lives here. He's a carpenter. I'm guessing he's not here right now though. He's probably up the mountains cutting wood or something."

"Is there a path up to the mountain?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "There's actually a really nice place where a festival is held. Two, actually; the Full Moon Festival and the New Year's festival. The view is great."

"Could you show me?"

I wanted to sigh, but then he'd know that I really didn't want to show him. But I was in a good mood and decided to humor him. After all it was my own fault for mentioning the view in the first place.

"Sure, let's go, it should be getting dark soon."

We made our way up the mountain and I led him past the Hot Springs and the Goddess Pond, the open grassy hills and across the little wooden bridge to the open rocky space that served as the location for two festivals of our Mineral Town. We went to the edge and looked out on the world. I have to admit, I was really glad he convinced me to come up here. The sun was setting and the colors in the sky were amazing, not to mention the view.

"See that open spot down there with a couple buildings?" I said, pointing down and to the left. "That's Forget-Me-Not Valley. We get a couple visitors from there sometimes. I have a friend there named Jill. She runs a farm. I haven't talked to her in a while, though."

He just nodded in response. Obviously he was taking in all the nature and whatnot. I couldn't help but watch him as he watched the world; his hair being ruffled by the slight breeze, the way the setting sun gave his skin a sort of natural glow. His profile looked good against the colorful background, and his big brown eyes were filled with emotion. It was – wait, what was I doing? I couldn't be looking at him _that way_. It was the beginning of a nightmare for me. I turned away and decided to focus on the view of the valley.

I felt him looking at me out of the corner of my eye. He must have turned to look at me just as I turned to look away. Though I pretended to concentrate on the sky, my mind was racing at a mile a minute, wondering what in the world he was thinking about at that moment. I was about to find out.

"Have you ever tried wearing your hair down?" he asked. It was a random question, at least to me. When I didn't answer, he said, "I think it would look really, um, good." He stopped himself before he said "good". Maybe he was about to say "pretty" instead. Or maybe I was hallucinating. I turned to look at him, thinking maybe once I looked at him he would look away. That's usually how this kind of thing works, anyway. But I was wrong. He kept looking back at me. I wanted to look away, I really did, I was _telling_ myself to look away. But I couldn't. I just kept looking at him, the rest of the world melting away except those cute, brown eyes. Was it just me or were his eyes getting bigger? Or maybe he was moving closer, or worse, maybe _I_ was moving closer.

I snapped myself out of the trance not a second too soon. He seemed to do the same. We immediately turned away to watch the sun finally set down behind the horizon, and the stars started coming out as the sky slowly darkened. It looked at my watch. It was just about six o'clock. Everything turned dark way too soon in this town.

"It's getting dark," I finally said. "I think we should be getting back."

"Good idea," he said, not looking me in the eye. A second after we started walking he almost tripped over a rock. "How can you see anything in this darkness?" He asked me.

"Well I'm used to it I guess." I answered. "Don't worry I know the way back. But here," I said, holding out my hand for him to take. "You wouldn't want to trip again." He took my hand in his and I immediately got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, like butterflies. I'm not sure what it was, but I realized that I was walking home in the dark holding a guy's hand. And in a way, I enjoyed it. What was happening to me?

* * *

**The weird thing is that as I was typing this up, I was listening to the radio, and the song "Miss Independent" _did _come on. What are the odds? I mean that song never comes on anymore. I just had to throw in the part about the song coming on in the story after that happened to me. **


	5. Dreams

**Okay chapter 5 is up! Sorry if I kept some of you waiting for too long, I've been pretty busy lately. **

Chapter Five

"Ann," he said, approaching me from behind. I was up on the mountain and it was the sunset, just like it had been last night. He came up and sat down real close to me, his chest resting up against my back. He put his chin on my shoulder and started talking but I couldn't make out the words he was saying. I turned to look at him with a questioning expression on my face, but the next thing I knew we were kissing. I was enjoying it, too. I didn't want to pull away. I kissed him back and started to put my arms around him when –

"Ah!" I screamed, automatically sitting up in my bed as I awoke from the dream. My heart was racing and I slowly looked around the room, foolishly expecting something to happen. Nothing did. It was just regular old Mineral Town alright, and I was just regular old Ann, getting freaked out by nothing and waking up in the middle of the night with a ridiculous nightmare still rearing its ugly head in my mind. For a second there I had thought –

"Ann?" I heard someone say my voice, and it wasn't my dad. Cliff walked in the room without knocking and came over to stand by my bed. "Ann are you okay? I thought I heard you scream."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I said, looking at him, wondering what he was doing in my bedroom so late at night.

"Having another nightmare?" He asked. He must have been referring to the 'nightmare' I had that had caused me to yell at my alarm clock that one morning.

"Funny story about that – " I started, but I stopped myself when he sat down on the bed next to me and gently pushed me back until my head was again resting on the pillow. He came down with me, his chest resting up against mine.

"I know I only met you yesterday," he said, his lips dangerously close to mine. "But I have something to tell you," he said, and he brushed his lips against mine.

"Ah!" I screamed, sitting up in bed once again. I looked around the room, getting the odd feeling that I was having déjà vu. No one was in my room except me and my stuffed bear that I've had ever since I was three. Another dream, eh? But that was _weird_. It was like a dream within a dream. Huh. I wiped my forehead, as it was drenched with sweat, and lay back down on my pillow after I was positive I really was awake this time. Even though I was still really tired, I forced myself to stay awake, knowing that even exhaustion was better than having another one of those nightmares.

But I think the question was _why_ was I having those nightmares? After all, in the dreams those kisses had been enjoyable. In fact, the whole dream itself had been enjoyable. So why was it that only when I wake up did I find my common sense and realize that I was losing so much of who I was? I was losing my freedom, my independence, my sense of amazing confidence that I have … I was losing all that made me _me_! It was always just supposed to be me and my dad, right? I have to admit, sometimes I worried about whether or not he would get remarried … but I never thought I'd be worrying about whether or not_ I_ would get married at all. Then I realized something; I was blowing this whole thing out of proportion. I was already thinking about marriage and here the guy hasn't even asked me out on a date or given me the slightest hint that he likes me. I realized this must be the result of one thing; that crazy incident at the Goddess Pond. After all, I'm sure I wouldn't even consider Cliff potential marriage material if the Goddess hadn't told me I'd fall in love. That's why everything was all screwed up, because someone supposedly told me what my future would be and now I was all paranoid. After all, Cliff is the last guy I would marry, maybe next to Gray. We're total opposites_. But then again, like Popuri said, opposites attract._ Okay, well, we'd never get along. _Although he did seem to enjoy my company during the tour._ Oh that's nothing. He probably wouldn't understand my need to be totally and completely free, no strings attached. _Wait a second he's a traveler, he never stays in one place for more than a year. Of all the people in this town, he probably understands freedom the most._ Well he's probably not sensitive to my needs and he probably wouldn't notice when I was hurt. _Uh, hello! He came back to comfort you when you hit your head against that stupid wall, and he asked you about the yelling. Of course he's perceptive and sensitive!_

Oh boy, this pep talk I was giving myself wasn't working out all that great. For every reason I came up with of why Cliff would not be a good husband, something else popped up to prove me wrong or counterbalance it. I suddenly found myself face to face with the perfect guy and I had no idea how to react.

_But you like him_ a voice in my head insisted. Immediately I denied it. No way. I don't like him, at least not like that. _Of course you do, idiot. You just had two dreams about him_. Hah, no. I don't like him, and that's that. I decided to take a different approach. We all know I felt comfortable saying I _didn't_ like him, but how would I feel if I told myself I _did_ like him?

_I like him_. I tried the words out in my mind. _I am definitely crushing on him_. _He's so cute, those brown eyes, that smile…_ Okay this wasn't working, at least not in the way I wanted it to. I was supposed to go "Ew!" and completely realize that I did not like him and there was no way I actually agreed with what I was thinking. But that reaction which I desired would not come. I decided to take it to the next level.

"I like him," I said out loud. The words sounded funny coming from my mouth, but were something I wanted to try again. "I like him. I like him." Okay now I just sounded like a broken record. I needed to embellish. I needed to wrap my mind around the concept. "I _like_ him a lot. He's really nice and loving and I want to hug him." Okay _now_ I sounded like a hippie or something. I closed my eyes and pictured him in my mind. I imagined me walking up and him embracing me, wrapping his strong arms around me, holding me close. "I – I –" I struggled to say the word I knew I had to say in order to prove to myself that this was all a joke. "I _love_ him."

That was all I needed. I knew I didn't love him, and that all this was just a huge mess. He was nothing special. I'd wake up tomorrow morning, serve him breakfast, and we'd get along just like regular people do. I smiled with satisfaction that my little exercise had worked, and I lay back down in bed, fully confident that I could now sleep with no more nightmares.

Then why did I have a lingering doubt in the back of my mind?

The next morning I woke up peacefully, having had no bad dreams after that episode. Since I had broken my alarm clock I got up considerably later than usual and decided to skip my daily visit to the Harvest Goddess Pond. I walked into the kitchen and fixed myself up some breakfast and ate in silence as I watched my dad clean off the stove.

"So," I said clearing my throat. "Did you give Cliff his breakfast already?"

"Yes I did," he responded. "He left for church about an hour ago. You slept in late; why's that?"

"My alarm clock broke."

"What? Again?" my dad said. "I'll have to buy a different brand next time. This kind seems to break too often."

"Heh, yeah." I said. I sure wasn't going to tell him how it was they always broke. Then he might make me pay for the next one. And since I would have bought it, then I wouldn't want to break it during one of my fits of rage in the morning. Then I'd have nothing to take my anger out on except him. In a way, by not telling him, I was doing him a favor.

"Hey Ann," my dad said in that tone that he uses when he wants me to do something for him. Great, what would it be this time? I was fully prepared with an excuse when he asked me, but I wasn't expecting him to say what he did.

"Would you mind taking some lunch to Cliff while he's at the church? He said he would be gone for a long time and I'm thinking he'll get really hungry while he's there."

Lunch? To Cliff? What I needed right now was a break from Cliff. After taking him on that tour and having him haunt my dreams last night, all I wanted was some time to clear my head. But it was just packing him a lunch and then delivering it to the church; a harmless little task, really. What could go wrong? I decided to take my chances, as I am a risk-taker after all, and say 'yes' to my father's mission for me.

Two hours later I found myself carrying a brown paper bag with a lunch inside that I had made myself, walking through the streets of Mineral Town to the small church where Stu and May came to play most of the week. I opened the double doors, the air conditioning immediately hitting me, as Carter liked to keep it really cool in the church, especially with Summer approaching fast. Stu and May weren't there today for some reason, but of course Cliff was there, sitting in the very first pew, his shoulders slouched over. Carter was nowhere in sight; probably in the confessional. It made no sense to me why he went back there if hardly anyone ever showed up. Or maybe they did. I wouldn't know, after all, because I never went and nobody else in the town ever talked about things like that.

I took a deep breath because for reasons unknown to me I suddenly became a little nervous and shy feeling. Probably because I was in a church; they seem to have a calming, somber effect on me. Anyway, I walked up the aisle to Cliff, and as I did so, I thought how ironic this was. Here I was, walking up an aisle … in a church … to meet Cliff. One would have thought I was getting married if they didn't know that I was carrying a lunch bag, not a bouquet of flowers, and Cliff was sitting in the pew wearing traveler's clothes, not a handsome tuxedo. Not to mention there was no one else in the church and the priest wasn't anywhere in sight.

He must have heard me coming because he turned around to see me as I took the last final steps toward him. He stood up, either out of respect or pleasure to see me I'll never know, and looked me in the eye, saying, "Hello Ann. What are you doing here?"

"Here," I said, holding out the paper bag. "I brought you some lunch. I thought you might be hungry."

"Oh, thank you." He said, taking the bag in his hands, genuinely grateful for the lunch. He must have thought that it was my idea, the way his eyes lit up and he looked like someone actually cared about him. I wasn't going to ruin it for him and tell them that no, I wasn't the considerate individual who thought of him in his hour of need; it was my dad.

"Well, uh, that's about it." I said, feeling a little awkward. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Bye Ann," he said, taking the sandwich out of the bag and starting to unwrap it. "And thanks again."

I honestly don't know what came over me, but at that moment I whirled around and stared at him. After a second or two he looked back at me with a questioning expression in his eyes. It took me a second or two, but I finally forced myself to talk so that he wouldn't think I was a complete idiot for staring at him like that for no reason.

"Cliff," I began, not sure where I was going with this. "Um, there's this really nice pond up on the mountain that I didn't really show you the other day." He looked at me, waiting for me to continue. "I was wondering, if you wanted to see it, maybe we could go fishing there." He looked delighted and I knew his answer was going to be yes. "After all my dad needs the fish for cooking at the Inn." I hurriedly added.

He nodded. "Okay. If you don't mind waiting, maybe I'll be along in an hour or so?"

"Okay," I said, feeling the blood rush to my face as I finally started to blush. "I guess I'll be at the Inn."

"Bye," he said. I responded likewise and hurried out of the church. Once outside, I closed the doors and proceeded to bang my head against the church wall.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I insulted myself as I physically punished myself for acting like that. What had come over me? I felt so torn at the moment. Half of me was looking forward to this fishing date, and the other half wanted to march back in there and cancel it, telling him that I was fine by myself and didn't need him. And the other half of me just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and never come out for the rest of my life. Wait a second … three halves? I sighed as I started walking back to the Inn. I was such a complicated person.


	6. The Note

**Sorry guys, this one's going to be on the short side. Enjoy reading it anyway, and be sure to review!**

Chapter Six

"What are you doing, Ann?" My dad asked as he saw me walk into the Inn and head for the closet. I didn't want to tell him, but my trek to the closet including looking for fishing rods. I wanted to make sure we had a couple for my 'date' today.

"I'm just looking around," I said as I dug through the closet. This thing sure was messy. I wonder why no one ever cleaned it out? Oh wait. That was my job, one that I had been so cleverly avoiding for a long, long time. Funny how these things come back to bite you when you need something most, something like a fishing rod.

"Dad where are the fishing rods?" I hoped he wouldn't ask me why I wanted them.

"Why?"

It was like he could read my mind and did the things he knew would bother me the most.

"… Because I'm going fishing later today."

"I moved them into the closet upstairs in one of the spare rooms."

"What?" I said. "Why in the world did you do that?"

"Because I knew that you never cleaned that closet out when I asked." Ooh. Maybe he was smarter than I thought. "And I knew they were the most frequently used thing in that closet, so I moved them to a place where they would be easier to find."

"Oh." That was all I could think of to say. Oh well, did I really need to say anything else? I ran upstairs without another word. I glanced back down at my dad before leaping up the final stair. He seemed to have a mischievous smile on his face. I did a double take. Either he wiped that smile off his face really fast or it was just my imagination. I decided to go with the second one, as weird stuff did seem to be happening to me lately, mostly due to my imagination.

I ran into the spare bedroom that Gray used and started rummaging through the closet. Nothing was in there, seeing as Gray only stays at our place during the night and probably uses his closet at home as a place to keep his personal belongings. He really had no use for this one. That meant that the only other place the fishing rods could be is Cliff's closet. I squinted my eyes in suspicion. Did my dad do these things on purpose? Whether or not this was true, I made my way to the room right next to Gray's and walked in the door. Glancing around the room, I saw that Cliff didn't have many belongings. It looked like he hadn't even bothered to unpack, really. All he had was a sack of stuff lying on the floor. Curiosity took hold of me. What was in that sack? I felt like slapping myself. _Get a hold of yourself, Ann! Probably nothing interesting, anyway. Just find the fishing rods. _I walked over to the closet and pulled out the fishing rods in a second; they were easy enough to find. Now all that I need was some bait and maybe something to put the fish in, and we'd be all set to go. I was two feet from the door when I heard the sack beckoning me … _Ann … Ann…_ Turning around I stared at it. It seemed to mock me, so I scowled, hoping to intimidate it. Intimidate a sack …? That's it, I had to open it now. The thing was driving me crazy. I was not going to let it get the better of me.

I opened it up and the first thing I saw was a crinkled up piece of paper. Taking it in my hands, I unfolded it and started to read.

_This is sudden, I know. But there is no easy way to say this. When I see you I just I want to hold you close and never let you go. I'm glad you're the one here at the Inn with me._

That was all there was to it. I dropped to a sitting position on the floor, holding the unfolded note in my hands. It was unfinished, I could tell due to the open space at the bottom and the way it ended rather abruptly. It was obviously Cliff's note, and who else would it be addressed to but me? The only other people in the Inn were my dad and sometimes Gray, unless Cliff … no, no, that wasn't true. I knew it wasn't. Just call it a woman's intuition.

I gently placed the note back in the folds of his bag, wondering if maybe he intended to give it to me today at some point. What would I say when he handed it to me, or I found it lying on my bed or something? How would I respond? Should I show Karen and ask her for advice? My immediate answer to that question was no. Karen was a good friend and sometimes -- okay, rarely -- gave good advice, especially on things like love, so there was no way I was going to let her know. Besides, she'd probably tease me for about ten minutes before actually buckling down and getting on to helping me.

Whatever was going to happen, I decided that leaving Cliff's room was my first priority. I couldn't let him walk in on me only to have him find the girl of his dreams snooping around. I picked up the fishing rods and took them downstairs, trying not to look as bewildered as I felt. Walking up to my dad, I asked him where the bait was.

"Oh I'll get it for you, Ann." he answered. Pausing, he looked at my face. "What's the matter? You look like you're going to be sick. Are you okay?" He felt my forehead and inspected my face.

"No I'm fine, Dad." the words came spilling out of my mouth. "It's just a little hot in here, I guess."

"I know it's getting hotter because Summer's on its way, but I did turn the air conditioning on. Maybe you shouldn't go on that little fishing escapade, it's even hotter outside after all."

Wow, my chance to get out of a date with Cliff! Actually my dad didn't know I was going with Cliff, but I he at least knew I was going fishing. So, the real question was, how was I going to answer? I could agree and then fake sickness for the rest of the day. I already knew I was really good at that. In my younger days I avoided many a test by faking sickness and getting out of school for it. I was a natural, the best there was, the prank master. Yeah! Oh wait, I was supposed to be sick.

"Unnhhh…" I said, holding my head. "I don't know, Dad. Cliff was so looking forward to going fishing. He suggested it himself and I didn't have the heart to …" at this point I swayed a little to look like I was exhausted. " … turn him down, especially since he's new around here."

"Cliff you say?" My dad said. Uh-oh. I shouldn't have mentioned wanderer-boy. Now my dad was probably going to make me go no matter what. Even though he claimed he wouldn't get involved, I know he was still totally for us going out. I racked my brain for some other excuse to make it so that there was no way I could still go fishing, when my dad started talking, and, much to my surprise, came to my rescue.

"I know you don't want to go out with the young man," my dad said. "So I won't force you this time, even though I'm sure you two would have had a lot of fun." he put on a thoughtful expression before continuing. "Since it's the heat that's getting to you, how about I arrange a nice dinner here in the Inn for you two instead?"

"What? Dad!" I said, forgetting all about my little heat exhaustion charade. "You said you wouldn't get involved!"

"And _you _said the heat was getting to you," he smiled and pointed an accusing finger in my direction.

I growled and cursed inwardly. How could I have forgotten the most important rule of pretending to be sick? I was going soft. _Fine_, I thought, _you won this one, Dad_. _But I'll get my revenge … somehow. _

"Okay, fine, I'll go fishing with him," I sighed and rolled my eyes for effect. "But I won't enjoy it."

My dad chuckled. "I find that hard to believe, Ann. You enjoy fishing a lot, and I know that."

I couldn't admit to him that he had been right. That would be the second time in ten seconds that he would have 'won'. Instead I walked into the back room, past the kitchen, and into my bedroom, where I slammed the door and sat on my bed, giving myself a time out. I didn't know this at the time, but that was where I was to sit for the next couple hours, alone with my thoughts, until Cliff came to take me away for the fishing 'escapade' as my dad had called it.

Ann's Father's POV

I watched my daughter storm angrily into her bedroom after I had just found her out during her little fake-sick charade. I chuckled and walked upstairs to Cliff's room where I had planted that mushy love note. I imagine she saw it, and that's why she was so pale when she came downstairs. Picking it up in my hands and examining it, I realized that the note worked either way; it could be from Cliff to Ann, or from Ann to Cliff. Although I knew that Ann was entirely too curious for her own good and there's no way she would have passed up snooping in Cliff's bag, I also knew that Cliff probably wouldn't find it unless it was placed somewhere really obvious. I put the note on his neatly made bed and expected him to find it there than night when he went to bed. He would go to sleep, thinking Ann had given him that note, and all would be well.

A pang of guilt hit me. I had told Ann I wouldn't get involved. But I was her father and knew what was best for her. I ran back downstairs when I heard the phone starting to ring.

"Hello?" I said, picking it up.

"Hello, Doug." The voice on the other line said.

"Oh, hey Carter." I said casually, then lowered my voice so Ann wouldn't hear. She was a master at things like eavesdropping, I had figured that out over the years. "Listen, the plan's working perfectly; everything's going according to plan. She found the note, and I think the little tour you set them up on yesterday was beneficial as well. Have anything else in mind?"

"I think we've done our part, Doug." Carter said. "Let love take its course from here on out."


	7. Fishing Date

**This is switched back to Ann's POV by the way. I figured most of you would realize that but I didn't want you all to possibly be confused. So have fun reading it and be sure to review!**

Chapter Seven

"Ann!" I heard my father call. "Ann, where are you?"

"I'm in my room!" I yelled back. The words that were on Cliff's note still haunted me. So, it was true. He really did like me. Can't say I blame him, though. I had some very attractive qualities. _Hold up!_ I told myself. Here I was thinking about Cliff and yet ... I felt comfortable doing so. _Are you finally going to admit it, Ann? Are you finally going to say the words to yourself and actually believe them this time? _

"Yeah," I said out loud, answering myself. "Yeah I guess I'll admit it ..." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, saying "I like Cliff!" The words didn't feel so strange in my mouth this time, they hadn't ever since I said them to myself that one night in my bed. I let my breath out and felt relieved in a very strange way. It was like taking a huge load off my back. A huge lie was more like it. I liked him that whole time, yet I remained stubborn enough to even block out my own feelings. I nodded, impressed with myself. I managed to somehow lie to myself for over a couple of days! Now if I only I could have that same type of achievement with my sick charades. Oh well. It was too late to bring that up again. The plans for the fishing trip had already been made, the arrangements were written in stone. Now all I had to do was get myself excited about the trip. After all, I was a true girl now, having finally developed a crush on a guy for the first time in a long time. I needed to start acting like one.

Now, what was that Cliff had said that night on the mountain? Oh yes. He thought that my hair would look really pretty if it was down. I paused. Did he really say "really pretty" or was I exaggerating the past? I shrugged. Whatever, he did say something about my hair being down, so I undid the braid and pulled a comb through my unruly bright red hair. A lot of people didn't know this about me, but my hair actually had a nice loose curl to it. It was kind of in between curly and wavy. I had it back in a braid so often that I doubt people even bothered to ask themselves what I would look like without the braid. I smiled. But Cliff had been observant and kind enough to wonder what I would look like with my hair down. He was so thoughtful.

I took a look at myself in the mirror. Should I put some make-up on? I shuddered at the thought. Definitely not! I might have let my hair down, but make-up would be crossing the line. Besides, I don't think I owned any make-up. I would have to go borrow some from Popuri or somebody girly like that. And you know, I sure wasn't going to go and ask Popuri for some mascara or something. She would get so suspicious, and then I'd have to tell her what was going on, and _then_ she'd never let me hear the end of it.

Glancing one last time in the mirror, I realized that my overalls and yellow shirt that I normally wore didn't go that well with my newfound hair-do. I remembered that I did have some other clothes. Besides, with Summer creeping up I needed some shorts to wear. Rummaging through my closet, I pulled out a light blue polo shirt and some khaki shorts. I held the outfit up. It sure looked like they matched. I wasn't one for choosing clothes that go well together, but it actually looked ... dare I say - pretty? I changed into my new outfit, hoping my dad wouldn't comment too much on my sudden change of appearance.

I suddenly remembered that my dad had been calling me. I ran out to the main room of the Inn without a second thought and found myself face-to-face with Cliff. He had gotten back from his church outing, I noticed, and was obviously here to pick me up for the fishing. Upon seeing me, my dad raised his eyebrows and smiled. I could tell he was pleased with the way I had changed. To him, it was a surefire sign that I was attracted to Cliff, or was at least trying to please him. Either way, I ignored my dad and focused my attention on the young traveler standing in front of me. I knew that if I even glanced at my dad he would give me some kind of look, and then I'd be all embarrassed and start blushing scarlet.

"Hi Cliff." I said. "Ready for fishing?"

"Yes," he responded. "Do you have rods?"

"Here they are!" My dad said, pulling the rods out of nowhere. "And here's a bucket of bait…" he paused to hand the bait to me while Cliff took the rods. "And here is a cooler for you to put the fish in." He brought a small cooler out from behind the counter and Cliff took hold of that, too. "Have fun you crazy kids!" And with that he pushed the two of us out the Inn door and left us standing with confused expressions on our faces.

"I guess your dad wanted us out of the way?" Cliff said, still a little bewildered.

"I guess so." I responded. Regaining my senses, I started walking toward the mountain. "Come on," I said, urging Cliff to follow me. "Let's get going before it gets too late." It was already around 1 o'clock pm and I wasn't sure what the ideal time was for fishing. I figured it was early in the morning and we'd already missed it, but for some reason I was in a hurry. Maybe all I wanted to do was get the date over with, despite the fact that I already told myself I liked him. Wait, I liked him! I suddenly remembered that I was going out fishing with my crush and I didn't even start to feel nervous or anything. Oh great, _now_ I was nervous.

"Your hair looks really good that way," Cliff commented just before we reached the lake. "How come you never wore it down before?"

"Oh I've worn it down before lots of times," I lied. "It's just that you've only been here a couple days and every time you saw me I happened to be wearing it in a braid."

"Oh." was his reply.

When we finally reached the lake, the two of us sat down and baited our rods. I finished first, and threw it into the lake, watching the hook slowly start to sink down into the depths of the water. Not soon after I had thrown mine out, Cliff did the same, and I watched the ripples made by the splash as they grew bigger and bigger until they finally disappeared from the surface of the lake. The two of us sat in silence for about five minutes, each of us waiting for a bite.

"So," Cliff finally said. "How long have you lived here?"

"Several years," I responded. "I think I was about five years old when we moved here one day in the middle of winter."

"Winter," Cliff repeated. "That must have been hard. I know what it's like to travel during winter."

"I don't remember much of it," I admitted. "Only that I was really little and scared. My dad was busy so he didn't have much time or patience to comfort me. He was preoccupied with setting up the Inn and making the menus, getting everything in order and finally settling us down in our rooms."

"Was it just you and your father?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "My mom died when I was really young and I was their only child. My dad hasn't gotten remarried since."

"I don't remember my parents," Cliff said. "I was orphaned at an early age. I stayed at an orphanage for a while, but it was too much for me. I had to go out and see the world with my own eyes. So I ran away. They never came looking for me." He paused. "I guess to them I was just another mouth to feed."

I looked at him, filled with sorrow for a minute or two. Maybe that's why he fell for me so fast. He needed someone to love, and someone to love him back. I slowly lowered my eyes back onto my fishing rod and the lake. Fortunately a fish finally bit and broke the awkward silence.

"Oh, I got one!" I yelled excitedly. Cliff immediately propped his rod up with two rocks and leaned over to help me reel mine in. "It's a big one!" I commented, struggling to win the fight with the fish. Cliff put his hand on mind and started helping me reel. We had both leaned back, hoping that our weight would help pull the fish in. The fish swiftly and suddenly gave in, making the pull a lot easier. But the momentum caused us to tumble backwards. We landed on the grass next to each other, the fish flopping around desperately a couple feet in front of us. Cliff rubbed his head, since he had hit it hard, and I looked over at him. For no reason I burst out laughing. It was somehow funny to me. One minute we had been struggling to reel a fish in, and the next we were both lying in the grass, trying to get up. The comical humor of it all made me laugh. My dad had always told me my laughter was contagious and I never believed him, at least not until that day. Right after I started laughing so did Cliff, and we lay on the grass laughing until our stomachs hurt.

"Oh my," I said when I finally sat back up. Cliff had sat up too and had managed to get a hold of the wriggling fish.

"Wait, I forget…" I said. "Do we kill the fish and then put it in the cooler, or do we put it in the cooler thus killing it?"

Cliff gave me an odd look and hit the fish against the ground hard. It stopped moving and he tossed it in the cooler. "I'm not sure if that killed it or just knocked it out." He said. "But it doesn't really matter because he'll die if he's not in water."

"Oh yeah," I said.

"So, the fish isn't in the water anymore," he said. I gave him a strange look. _Yes_, I felt like saying, _you just said that_. "But you're about to be!" He yelled teasingly. Before I had a chance to react he pushed me into the lake. I plunged in and then emerged a second later, gasping for breath, partly because it was cold water and partly because I was so surprised he had done that!

Cliff sat back laughing as I glared angrily at him. "I thought you liked my hair down!" I yelled at him. "Now its drenched and smells like lake water!"

"I'm sorry," he said, finally calming down. "I thought you wouldn't mind that I pushed you in."

"And you ruined my clothes," I added to myself. I didn't want him to hear me say that. I was actually kind of embarrassed to admit that to myself, because I wasn't a girly girl, I wasn't supposed to care about clothes.

"Here, let me help you," he said, holding his hand out and leaning out toward me as far as he could. I smiled evilly and held my hand out to him. He took his hand in mine and I said, "No, let _me_ help _you_!" I pulled him in next to me and he came up out of the water with the same reaction I had: shock at me and at the cold.

"Wh-what did you do that for?" He said, looking at me. Despite what he had said I could tell he was trying not to smile.

"You were asking for it," I said. I started splashing him and he started splashing me back. "How do you like this?" I screamed. He yelled something back at me. And that's how we were when Popuri came along and found us; splashing each other like five-year-olds in a lake infested with fish.


	8. Mountaintop Meeting

**This one's going to be a little short, too. Sorry! Hope you like it anyway. **

Chapter 8

"Ann?" Popuri said questioningly. "Is that … you?"

Upon hearing the pink-haired girl's voice I immediately stopped splashing and hid myself behind Cliff. He started to turn around and look at me, I'm sure to ask me what I was doing, but I grabbed his shoulders and forced him to face Popuri.

"Um…" Cliff started to talk to Popuri. "Hi?"

"What's going on here?" Popuri asked. "Why is Ann hiding behind you?"

So Popuri was smarter than I thought. My lightning fast moves had not evaded her; despite the fact that I was quick her eyes were quicker. Either that or she knew I was the only red-head girl in this entire town … yeah it was probably the second one. I knew I had been figured out though, and emerged from behind Cliff.

"Hi," I said with a sheepish wave of my hand.

"Hi Ann," Popuri said suspiciously. "What are you doing in the lake? And," she paused to gasp. "Why is your hair down?"

"Popuri, I _like _wearing my hair down," I said, pretending to be shocked at her. "Sometimes," I added to myself. "And why are we in the lake, you ask? Well you see I was fishing and … and the fish pulled me in, so Cliff had to come in and save me, and then we were splashing because we, we thought we saw a … fish and we didn't want it coming near us with its slimy scales and … weird eyes." I nodded vigorously to try and assure Popuri that my story was true. Cliff remained silent, a good move on his part.

"I see," Popuri said, examining the fishing supplies we still had waiting by the edge of the lake. She looked skeptical for a moment, and I prayed that she would go away, but apparently that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

"Oh, hi!" Popuri said suddenly. I looked around to see who she was talking to. No one else was there except me and Cliff … oh right, Cliff.

"I've never seen you before." she continued. "I'm Popuri." Cliff was about to say something in return when Popuri kept talking. "Oh! You must be that new boarder that Ann told me about." She turned to look at me, wagging her finger. "Shame on you, Ann! He seems like a nice guy. Why in the world would you loathe to serve someone as nice as him?" I vigorously shook my head, signaling Popuri to stop talking.

"But he is a cute one! I don't see why you won't go out with him, Ann. You really need to learn some manners. At least give him a chance!"

"Popuri…" I said in my most threatening tone. If looks could kill…

"Yes?" she said.

"… Leave. Now." the words I spoke were dangerously calm. Luckily for her Popuri knew this was just the calm before the storm.

"Don't you want help getting out of the -"

"Now!"

"Okay, okay, fine!" she said, getting a prissy attitude. "I'm going!" She turned around to walk away. "Sheesh! All I do is offer some help and this is the thanks I get…"

_Offer help? _I felt like screaming. _You ruined the only chance I had with this guy! _Ironic, isn't it, how that is all we both wanted, was for me to have a chance with Cliff, and then she came along and ruined it. I was beginning to think this was the payment I got for all those times I wrote those phony love letters to Popuri from Kai.

Cliff turned to look at me with a questioning/disgusted look on his face. I shrugged and did a phony smile, my eyebrows arched in an odd position. He shook his head with distaste before talking.

"You _loathe_ to serve me?" He didn't even wait for me to answer before he started swimming back to the lake's edge, which wasn't very far at all.

"No, Cliff! I don't loathe to serve you! Popuri's wrong! Completely and utterly wrong!" I said, starting to follow.

"So, then, she's a liar?" Cliff said, looking me square in the eye.

"Popuri is not a liar, Cliff, but if you let me explain-"

"Well if she's telling the truth, then _you're_ the liar." He said. He had finally reached the grass and was pulling himself up onto dry land. His clothes were dripping wet and stuck to him, his hair strangely falling in all sorts of directions around his face. I watched the water drip from his ponytail and onto his back.

"I'm not lying, either, Cliff!" I said. I climbed out after him. My pants were dark brown with water, my hair hung limply around my face. I tugged at my shirt and rung it out some; this only caused it to wrinkle.

"Well you can't both be telling the truth!" he said, turning around to look at me. I stood back in shock. I hadn't seen him like this before. His eyes dropped to the ground and he looked a little sad, but I could tell he was still upset with me the way his hand was balled up in a fist by his side.

"Cliff-"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I think … I think I better just go now." He walked over to the cooler and the fishing rods and started to pick them up. He grabbed the bucket of bait as well, somehow not struggling in holding them all. He successfully started walking away without dropping anything, but not before saying over his shoulder, "I'll take these back to the Inn for you. I'd hate for you to have to serve me in any way." The sarcasm in his voice stung like a slap in the face.

I watched him as he walked away, bold and confident, and I thought how pathetic and lonely I must have looked if he were to turn around and glance at me … which he didn't, of course. I forgot about how horrible I looked at the moment; I forgot about the sun beating down on my head, the water dripping down my legs, my clothes sticking to my body. I plopped down into the grass without a second thought, my eyes still glued to the spot where Cliff had been a couple minutes ago.

_So this is it. _I thought. _It's over. It's over and it never even began. _I picked myself up, knowing I'd have to go back to the Inn and face Cliff eventually, and started walking home. On the way there, I passed by the goddess spring. I stopped to look at myself in the cool, shimmering water. Without warning, a single tear dropped from my face and into the pool, creating a series of ripples that distorted my reflection. My face crumpled up, and in an effort not to cry, I turned my sadness into rage.

"It's all your fault!" I screamed at the pond, specifically talking to the goddess. I picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it at the pool. It dropped in somewhere around the middle. "I hate you!" I continued, picking up more rocks in my fit of rage and hurling as many as I could into the shiny water that lay before me. I dropped down to the ground after I ran out of rocks and cried into my hands.

"Why did you have to tell me I'd fall in love?" I whispered, half to myself. "Why did Cliff have to come?" I sniffled and wiped the moisture from my eyes. "And why'd he have to be so perfect?"

I stood up and started walking again. I decided it'd be best to go anywhere but the Inn right now. But where else was there to go? I'd rather not go somewhere with people. My eyes were probably red from crying and I sure didn't feel like talking to somebody right now. As much as I wanted to avoid going to a place that reminded me of Cliff, I decided to go to the mountaintop where I had taken him for the tour that one day. I turned back to where I had come from and started heading for the little wooden bridge.

By the time I was up on the mountain, the sun was already in position to set. I sighed at the irony of it all. The sun was setting when I showed Cliff the mountain, too. I walked up to the spot we had sat at only to realize that I wasn't alone. Little May was sitting there all by herself, staring out into the valley below.

I walked up next to her and sat down. I didn't think she'd mind the company. I was right.

"Hello, Ann." said the little five-year-old girl. "Isn't the sky pretty when the sun goes to bed?"

"Very pretty," I responded. She turned to look me in the face and noticed I had been crying.

"Are you sad?" she asked after a second of hesitation.

"A little." I answered, not wanting her to get wrapped up in the drama of it all.

"You know what makes me feel good when I'm sad?"

"What?"

"Ice cream!" she said smiling. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"I don't think ice cream is going to help this time, May." she had cheered me up for a second but I was back to my regular old moody self.

"Then you must be _really _sad, not a little sad, if ice cream isn't going to make it better." she said. I was surprised. For a five-year-old she was pretty perceptive.

"What do you think will make it better?" I asked. For a second I couldn't believe I was asking advice of a five-year-old, but I had no other plan at the moment.

"Hm," she thought for a second. When she opened her mouth, she spoke of her conclusion. "A hug. A great big one."

"From who?" I asked. I wasn't in the mood to give anyone a hug.

"From the person who loves you best." she said. "And who you love best."

"Cliff," I said quietly to myself. Apparently not quiet enough, though, because May heard me.

"Cliff?" she made a face. "Oh I remember him now!" A smile broke onto her face. "You showed him to me. He was nice, I like him." She nodded with approval. "He's a good person to give a hug."

"What if the person you need to hug is the person who made you cry?" I asked, half to myself. I wasn't sure that May would understand the complexity of it all. I don't know why I even bothered to say that to her. She was only confused in response.

"Then you're in trouble, missy," May said to me. "You need to find a way to make it better."

"You're right." I said. "I _do_ need to find a way to make things better." I stood up, but not before giving May a pat on the head. "Thanks, May."

"You're welcome," she responded. She stayed at the mountaintop though, and made no move that indicated she might be going back soon.

"May?" I said after I took a couple steps away from her. "It's going to get dark soon. Don't you think you should come down now?"

"No, my Grandpa will be coming soon," she said, referring to old man Barley. "We always come up to watch the sunset on this day."

"You mean every year?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Any particular reason as to why?" I said.

"Grandpa says that today is the anner-ver-ser-y of when my mommy went away." she said, having trouble pronouncing 'anniversary'. "It makes him feel good to watch the sky, just like it makes you feel good to hug Cliff."

"Oh," I said, not sure what else to say. I felt sorry for May, but I was never good at offering consoling words in a person's time of need. I could just never think of anything to say that might not offend them or make them feel even worse than they already did.

"Oh, Ann?" May said as she turned around, stopping me before I left the mountain.

"Yeah?" I said.

"I like your hair down like that. It looks very pretty. But," she paused, making a face. "Next time dry it after you get out of the shower."

I laughed, my mood having lifted considerably after having that little chat with May. "Will do, May. Will do."


	9. Exciting News

**I don't own Miss Independent (the song), Cinderella, or the book mentioned later in the chapter. I won't say the name so as not to ruin anything. **

Chapter Nine

"How in the world am I going to fix this?" I questioned myself as I made my way back to the Inn. The sky was darkening and I saw a couple of stars coming out. The night air was warmer than usual; probably because Summer was only a couple days away. Pretty soon it would be humid and the crickets would be noisily chirping away as the days grew longer and the nights shorter. People would be having barbeques, cookouts, and all sorts of picnic parties with their loved ones, and I'd be stuck at home without a date because I pushed my date into some murky lake water and then revealed to him that I 'loathed' to serve him. Yeah, smart move there, Ann. Way to think ahead. I really had to start thinking before I spoke, especially to Popuri. She really spilled those beans the first chance she got, didn't she? And now I was paying for it.

By the time I made it back to the Inn, the sky was completely dark and the stars were busily shining brightly. I wasn't in the mood to look at them or even make a wish on a shooting star that happened by that evening. No, all I wanted was to make things right again. Of all the times I'd messed up before, I could safely say this was the biggest mistake ever made by yours truly. There was always the possibility of just going up to Cliff's room and talking to him about the whole ordeal, and yet, as I remembered how he refused to listen to me before, I realized he probably wouldn't listen to me now. I had to give him some time to cool off, and myself some time to clear my head.

I don't know what held me back, but I gave him a week to cool off. Yeah, for a whole week we just passed each other in the halls without so much as a "Hey" or "How's it going?" We just walked right on bye, not even looking each other in the eye. We talked small talk when it was appropriate. Basically we treated each other like he was the guest and I was the host; the way it was supposed to be. The way it would have been had love not gotten in the way. Don't get me wrong, I was dying on the inside. I really wanted to talk to him about it, tell him the real meaning behind what Popuri had said, but with each passing day it got harder and harder to confront him, until eventually the desire to tell him the truth completely dwindled away. I had gotten over the whole thing, or so I thought. I realized if I didn't tell him the truth a week ago there was no way I was going to bother bringing it up again now. I wish I could tell you there was going to be a happy ending for this story, but this isn't Cinderella. I'm not the Miss Independent from the song. This is my life. And life doesn't always dish out happy endings.

Fast forward two weeks. Fourteen whole days later I found myself dreaming about Cliff, wanting to tell him how I really felt, and especially remembering that note he gave me. I burned with questions that didn't have answers: did he still feel that way? Does he hate me? Does he even think about me anymore or am I just a thing of the past? I could deny it no longer … I still had feelings for him, and I was dying to know if he still had feelings for me.

I was completely armed with what I was going to say to him; we got off on the wrong foot, Cliff. Let's start over. Want to go fishing again? Or maybe watch the sunset from the mountaintop again? That was fun. Let's just spend a day together and forget all about what happened two weeks ago. But if you really want to know, I'd be willing to explain…

Oh, who was I kidding? I was alone in the world again. Well there was my dad, but he doesn't count. And what made it worse was everywhere I went I saw young couples my age with their significant other. Since it was Summer now, Kai was here, and so Popuri didn't bother me anymore and spent all her days with him. I thought I'd be happy with her off my back, but it was somehow depressing. It was as if everyone had abandoned me. I saw my best friend, Karen, with Rick, Popuri with Kai (much to Rick's dismay), Elli and the Doc were all snuggly (although I do have to say they make a cute couple) and even Gray found someone after the horrible date he had with me; Mary. He spent all his free time in the library now.

And so that's how I was, depressed and lonely, when my friend Jill from Forget-Me-Not Valley called up.

I was sitting in my room, trying to read a book without much success, as I have a small attention span, when I heard the phone ringing downstairs. I wasn't excited when I heard it ring. Although we don't get many calls, I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. I let my dad answer it and heard him talking to someone on the other line. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but he talked for like five minutes before he finally called up the stairs and told me that Jill was on the phone.

**Ann's Father's POV**

My poor little girl. Ever since she and Cliff came home from the fishing trip, nothing has been the same between them. I can tell she's sad, and I want to help her, but I promised I wouldn't meddle in this affair. And even though I did go against my word, I can't let her know that! She'd hate me then, and I don't want to make her feel even more horrible than she already is.

I don't exactly know what happened while on the fishing trip, as neither Cliff or Ann told me about it, but I know it wasn't good because they seem to try and avoid each other. I don't know how Ann feels, but I'm positive that Cliff still has feelings for Ann. I know this because he found the note I planted on his bed the night they came home from fishing. He seemed surprised at first, but then his expression became that of a delighted person. However since Ann won't talk to him, and he's too shy to talk to her first, so they're both waiting for the other to cave first. And knowing my Ann's stubborn nature, it won't be her. And knowing Cliff's shy nature, it won't be him either. Maybe Carter was wrong, maybe I should step in and help out.

I was busy debating over what I should do in this situation when I heard the phone ring. Naturally Ann wasn't going to come bounding down the stairs, so I answered it. It was Jill, Ann's friend who runs a farm in a nearby valley.

"Hey there, Mr. D." She said. "Mind if I speak to Ann?"

"She's a little down right now, Jill. Though I guess I could put her on the line for you."

"What's the matter?"

"Actually, she's having boy problems, believe it or not."

"Boy problems? I don't suppose you'd mind telling me… seeing as there's no way on earth Ann would ever confide in anybody about _boy_ problems."

"We have a new boarder here at the Inn, and Ann likes him, and I know he likes her back. They went on a little fishing outing and I thought everything was going fine … but when they got back they weren't speaking to each other and they haven't for about two weeks now. I know the boy isn't going to stay here for much longer so I need to get them together fast."

"Well I might be able to help you, Mr. D!" she said excitedly. "I was actually calling to say that I have some great news of my own. My cousin, Jack, finally bought that empty farm lot that you guys have had on your hands for quite a while. Now, I told him it was run down and that he'd have his work cut out for him, but he insisted on buying it. It wasn't until yesterday that he called me up and asked me to help him out for the first couple weeks, just to get him started on the right foot, seeing as I know about farm running since I've got one of my own. So, plans were made, and we're coming in on the ferry tomorrow."

"That's great!" I said. "But what's going to happen to your farm while you help your cousin out here for a bit?"

"Oh, my boyfriend Marlin's got it covered. He might not be that great with animals, but he's a master when it comes to crops. I spent all day yesterday showing him how to care for the animals though, so I think he'll be fine." She paused before continuing. "So what were you thinking? That I could talk to Ann about the whole thing and help them patch things up?"

"Oh, no, I have something completely different in mind, Jill." I responded. "Knowing my daughter, it'll take a something stronger than just a friend to get her back on her feet with Cliff."

"What kind of 'stronger' were you thinking, Mr. D?"

"Hm," I said casually. "Jealousy, maybe?"

**Ann's POV**

"Ann!" I heard my dad call. "Jill's on the phone for you!"

"Jill?" I said out loud to myself. I hadn't spoken with her in the longest time! Just the thought of finally talking to my old friend after so long put me in a better mood. "Coming!" I yelled down the stairs.

When I reached the phone, my dad handed it to me and walked back into the kitchen to give us some privacy.

"Jill?" I said, panting a little bit since I had just bounded down the stairs.

"Ann! Hey, what's up? I haven't talked with you in the longest time!" Jill's voice was thick with excitement. Just the way she always sounded.

"Hey!" I said back, trying to sound as excited as she was. "Not much. Everything's been just peachy around here." I know, I had lied to one of my good friends. But she didn't need to know about Cliff. I didn't want to get her involved; besides, she'd probably overreact about the whole thing.

"That's good. So, I have some exciting news … I'm coming down to visit for a couple weeks!"

"No way!" I said. "Why? How?"

"My cousin Jack bought the farm and I'm going to help him run it until he gets the hang of things. Isn't that great? We'll get to hang out together again, starting tomorrow!"

"Wow that's … that's great!" I said. I didn't want to tell her this, but having her down here at this time, what with the whole Cliff thing going on, wasn't exactly the most exciting news I could have wished for. But part of me really was glad because my good friend was coming to visit, after all. I had to be happy.

"I know, isn't it?" Jill gushed. "Well, I gotta go. I already spent some time talking to your dad and if I spend any more time on here the bill's gonna be through the roof."

"What were you two talking about, anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing really," she responded calmly and casually. "Just catching up, you know. He gave me some cooking tips since I, uh, kind of almost burnt down the kitchen last time I tried to prepare a romantic dinner for me and Marlin."

I had to laugh at that. Jill never was much of a cook. "Okay, well, I'll let you go." I said. We exchanged good-byes and then hung up. I ran back upstairs to my room before my dad could emerge from the kitchen and ask me what Jill had to say. I didn't feel like explaining the whole story to him, and I didn't feel like talking to anyone, either. I sighed as I sat down on my bed, the book I had been reading falling to the floor. Everyone had someone, even Jill. And I had no one. I picked the fallen book up off the floor and started leafing through the pages, glancing at the text but not really reading it. Even Titania the fairy queen from the book had someone, even if he did have the head of a donkey. Heck, in that book, _everyone_ had someone. If someone were to ever write a book about my life, it'd probably be called, "The Life and Times of Ann, the Loneliest Girl in the World." Actually no, it wouldn't be called that. The title is way too long.

I lay back on my bed with my arms spread out, my legs dangling off the side. Maybe Jill's arrival tomorrow would help me feel better about myself and life in general. My eyelids started to droop and I started to drift off to sleep with one final thought in my mind … Maybe Jill's arrival would help me forget about Cliff…

**Alright, I know what you're thinking: what the heck was a girl like Ann doing reading a William Shakespeare book (which I don't own)? But I've read the book and it's cute, so I put it in there. It's A Midsummer Night's Dream by the way for those of you who haven't read the book or didn't know what I was referring to when I mentioned it. And I don't own it! So don't sue me! **


	10. Charades

**Finally, chapter ten is up! I don't know when the last time I updated was, but it seems kind of like it was a while ago. Thanks for all the reviews, everyone! They are much appreciated. Oh, and I don't own the song "Why Don't You Kiss Her" by Jesse McCartney. Happy reading!**

Chapter Ten

I woke up from my nap a few hours later. I looked at my digital clock that was glowing brightly in the room. Yeah, my dad bought me a digital clock complete with alarm. Hopefully this one will last longer than the other ones. Anyway, I glanced at the clock and saw that it read 1:18 a.m. Okay, so it was more than just a _few _hours that I was sleeping. I guess I fell asleep around what, after dinner sometime … maybe 7-ish? So I'd been asleep for around six hours and then for no reason I just woke up. But I wasn't tired at all. The beach was calling my name, and I was going to answer.

Since I fell asleep wearing my clothes, I didn't need to change. All I did was sneak out of the Inn, making sure I closed the door gently on my way out. I walked out into the warm Summer air, surprised at how different the world was at night. This town was usually quiet anyway, even during the day, but at night it was quiet almost to a magical extent; as if the world was put on pause.

I made my way through the Town Square, the lampposts shining their lights brightly, and walked off the stone stairs to take my first step on the beach that night. At night the sand was cool since the sun was not there to warm it, and I took off my shoes and socks to feel the texture of the beach against my bare feet. I decided I liked the beach better during the day, when the sand was hot with the sun and the waves felt cool and refreshing against one's skin. But the beach was also peaceful during the night, and soothing in a way that could not be beaten by the mountain air or freshness of the goddess spring.

Walking slowly so as not to wake up Zack the shipper, I walked out onto the end of the pier and sat down, dangling my feet off the edge, the waves just barely missing my toes. _You know what would make this evening - er, early morning - perfect? _I asked myself. I didn't need to answer my own question because of course I knew the response I was looking for. _Cliff_.

"Why don't I tell him?" I questioned myself aloud. I made a face as I realized my question was uncannily similar to a Jesse McCartney song. _Why don't you kiss her? Why don't you tell her? _I started singing the song in my head. Great, now it was stuck in my head and probably wouldn't go away for a long time. That was the last thing I needed; one of those silly love songs stuck in my head. And yet, when you're in love, those songs you once labeled 'silly' start to make a lot more sense then they used to.

I stared out at the moon and then slowly moved my eyes from the sky, to the horizon, and eventually to the ocean. I saw the moon again, except this time it was reflected on the water. It looked pretty like that, the waves and movements of the ocean toying with its reflection, almost as if it was playing a sort of game with it the way it bounced around.

Standing up, I started to yawn, as I realized that even though I was only out here for twenty minutes tops, I was suddenly very tired. Gathering up my shoes and my socks, I started heading back to the Inn where the rest of the night awaited me; and I looked forward to a peaceful sleep.

_Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep…_ I awoke to the sound of my new digital alarm clock. This one wasn't nearly as annoying as that old one that rang loudly every single morning. I drowsily lifted my head off the pillow and reached over to turn off the alarm. With a simple push of the button it stopped. I sat up in wonder. It was that simple? All I had to do was push the button? I think I liked this new alarm clock. Very much.

I was far too excited about my new alarm clock, and the fact that Jill was arriving today, to stay in bed. I got dressed (yes, I did put my pajamas on after coming home from my nightly excursion) and washed my face, brushed my teeth and pulled a comb through my hair. Then I put my hair back in its usual braid, of course. I had decided it was hopeless to try and wear my hair down in order to impress Cliff. Nothing was happening between us these days.

I walked out of my room and into the kitchen in the back of the Inn to have some breakfast. My dad wasn't there for some reason as he normally was when he was cooking up eggs and bacon for Cliff, so I started making Cliff's breakfast for him. Absentmindedly I threw a couple eggs in the frying pan and started watching them sizzle to perfection, moving them around every once in a while with a spatula.

After they were done cooking, I threw the eggs onto a plate and put some bacon on the side. Then I filled up a glass with orange juice and took them out to Cliff. He was sitting in his usual spot at his usual table. He seemed a little surprised to see me.

"Good morning," he mumbled. I said likewise and put the plate down in front of him. "Thanks … where's your dad?" He asked, barely even looking me in the eye.

"Dunno," I answered, blaming my attitude on my usual sour morning moods. I refused to take into consideration that I had actually woken up on the right side of bed this morning and that really I was in a bad mood because _Cliff_ was there and I was mad at him for being mad at me.

Before turning away to go back into the kitchen and eat my own breakfast, I decided to tell him about my friend Jill. "A friend of mine is coming to town today." I said, trying to use the least amount of words possible. "You wanna meet her?"

"I guess," he shrugged.

"Okay I'm going to visit her at the empty farm lot in an hour. Wait for me by the door," I said, motioning toward the double doors at the front of the Inn. He merely nodded in response and I went into the kitchen, fuming.

"Can't even say ten words to me in the morning," I muttered. "Some perfect guy he turned out to be." I continued garbling to myself for the next couple minutes. It was when I was about halfway done my breakfast when my dad walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, Ann." he said.

"Morning," I answered, my mouth stuffed with eggs. After swallowing that bite, I said, "Where have you been?"

"I was helping Jack and Jill unpack their things at the old farm." he answered, starting to cook breakfast up for himself.

"How'd you know she was coming over?"

"She called yesterday, Ann. I _did_ talk to her on the phone." he said as if the answer should have been obvious.

"But she said you gave her cooking tips."

He hesitated, then nodded. "Well, yes, that too."

"I'm taking Cliff over to meet Jill later today. Maybe he'll actually befriend Jack; then he'd at least have someone to talk to." I said rather mockingly.

"That's wonderful!" my dad said. I was surprised he didn't scold me for being kind of mean to Cliff. "When are you two going to head over?"

"In an hour, I guess. I was going to go up to the Harvest Goddess Pond first."

"Okay," my dad said. He continued cooking his breakfast and I finished mine up. I placed the plate in the sink and started heading out the door. The warm air greeted me when I took the first step outside, and I was reminded of my little trip to the beach last night. The magic of that was over though. Now I was in real life, specifically _my_ life; the one where I was hated by Cliff and known for wearing my hair back in a braid.

By the time I reached the goddess spring, Popuri was already there. I was kind of surprised that she already wasn't off with Kai somewhere on some enchanted, fairytale-like, romantic moonlit dinner … er, sunlight breakfast.

"Hi Ann!" she said immediately once she saw me approaching. "I haven't seen you around in a while. I've been visiting Kai's Seaside Lodge a lot. You should come, and bring Cliff with you. Where is he by the way? I haven't seen him around lately either. Are the two of you having fun during this warm season of Summer?" she concluded her monologue with a clap of her hands and a too-big-for-her-face smile.

"Actually, Cliff avoids me nowadays." I responded calmly, refusing to look Popuri in the eye as I stared down at my own reflection instead.

She gasped before talking again. "Why, Ann? What happened? What did you do to him?"

"After he found out that I 'loathed' to serve him, he started hanging out all by himself. He barely speaks to me anymore."

Another gasp. "How did he find that out?"

"_You told him_!" I said, not seeing how it was in any way possible that she either forgot that within the course of two weeks or was so dense that anything that occurred over three days ago was out of her capacity to remember.

"Oh, Ann," she said, looking genuinely regretful. "I am _so_ sorry. I - I realize that you're right. It was all my fault. It was completely and entirely my fault that this happened." She sighed. "I don't know what came over me that day at the pond, but sometimes when I start talking I just can't stop until I have nothing else to say. Either that or I just speak without thinking of what the consequences might be, and then something like this happens, and -"

"Popuri!" I said. "Enough! I mean, thank you. Thanks for apologizing. But you don't need to take so long to do it."

She smiled. "Well, come on," she said, giving me one of those fake punches on the arm. "We've got to get you two back together again."

"Back together?" I scoffed. "We were never _together_ in the first place."

"You sure looked like it when you were splashing each other in the pond."

"You mean, splashing that fish…" I said, my face reddening.

She giggled. "Ann, I didn't buy that for a second!"

I couldn't help but do a solemn smile. "I underestimated you." I said, not particularly enthusiastically because I was embarrassed to admit it.

"So does that mean you'll let me help you get him back?" she said, looking hopeful as ever.

"Uh, no." I said. "I'd rather you not meddle in this any more."

"You're not mad at me, are you?" she said, her big eyes getting a puppy dog look that actually kind of creeped me out.

"No, I'm not _mad_. I just don't like having people help me. I can do this on my own, okay?"

"Okay," Popuri said, looking a little downtrodden but nonetheless hopeful that everything would work out for me. For a second I was touched that she actually cared this much about me and I was tempted to thank her again. But then I got back to my senses.

"Well I need to go," Popuri said cheerfully. "I'll see you around, Ann!" she waved goodbye and disappeared from view as she walked off.

I decided to stay up at the goddess pond for a little bit longer. After all, I didn't need to go and get Cliff for another half an hour. It only took fifteen minutes to walk back to the Inn, so I technically had fifteen more minutes to myself. I took the time to reflect; both looking at myself in the pond and thinking back to last night on the beach. I also decided that I would try to be nice to Cliff today, and try to at least look like I was having fun. Today was a day of charades, I thought, and I was going to win.

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**Okay, confession time! I've always liked Cliff a lot, but I was never fond of the pairing AnnxCliff until I actually started writing this fic. I don't even know why I decided to write it if I didn't like the pairing, but over the chapters, I've come to like it a lot! I'm glad that I was able to make a couple other people like it too, according to reviews, as well as myself. I guess it ended up being more successful than I thought. **


	11. Mending Wounds

**Oh my, it has been _entirely_ too long since I last updated! I know some stories go for months without an update, but even a little over a week for me seemed like too much. To tell the truth I was having a really bad case of writer's block, but I forced myself to sit down and start typing, and once I did it all seemed to come so easily, that I finished this entire chapter in like twenty minutes. I hope you enjoy reading and I apologize for keeping you guys waiting for ... however long it has been! **

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After staying at the Goddess Pond for a little bit more, I started making my way back to the Inn so that I could pick up Cliff and we could go on over to Jack's place. Come to think of it, I had never met Jack. Jill had mentioned him only a couple of times, mainly saying one thing: that she was his cousin who was a couple years older than the two of us. But she always spoke admiringly of him. Actually that doesn't seem to make much sense; if she didn't speak about him much, then how could I tell she admired him? I don't know, I guess I'm just gifted like that. Smiling to myself, I thought how my mood had considerably lifted ever since this morning.

When I finally reached the Inn, I hesitated to go inside. Why don't I just go on over to Jack's place and see him and Jill _without_ Cliff? That would be so much easier. I dreaded the walk over to the farm; surely it would be filled with silence and awkwardness, and if this was some cheesy TV show then I'm sure a cricket chirp or two would be in order, complete with those occasional glances we would give each other. You know, those kinds where you look at the person, then you look away, and they look at you, then they look away as well, and then you look at each other at the same time - and then immediately look away because there's no way you'd want them to know you were looking at them … wow, that was a confusing sentence. And it seems that lately all I've been doing is confusing myself.

_All right, this is it. You said you'd take him to meet Jill, so that's what you're going to do. _For some reason I had to laugh at myself and this motivational speech I was in the middle of thinking. I was way too analytical and thought things through entirely too much. I opened up the double doors and went waltzing into the Inn. Well, not literally. But still, I needed to look confident, even if I really wasn't. I decided that I also needed to be a lot more brash, as I used to be - ever since Cliff came he started making me act weird. Yes, I decided, I needed to act like it was still just me and my dad. From that second on I started planning to be spontaneous.

"Hey, Cliff, are you ready to go?" I said cheerfully with a wave of my hand once I spotted the traveler from across the room. He clearly gave me this look that said, _And why are you being so nice to me all of the sudden?_ Okay, I thought sheepishly, I need to tone it down a bit.

"Yeah, I'm ready." He said. He walked over to me and we headed out the door.

"Do you remember where the farm is?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Kind of." He responded.

"Okay," I said. Silence ensued. So much for my conversation idea.

Unfortunately, exactly what I didn't want to happen did end up happening on that walk over. Yes, there was a long, awkward silence. No crickets chirping, though, and I forced myself not to look at him in order to avoid those untimely glances. However, I could sense him looking at me every once in a while.

I sighed with relief when we finally reached the farm. I ran ahead of Cliff to get to the door first. Childish, I know, but I have a competitive spirit and I really wanted to see Jill after all those years. Upon approaching the door I noticed a piece of paper taped to the door that read, "Be Back Soon." I took the note off the door and stared at it, as if looking at it for a long time might change the message that it already said.

I was still looking the note over when Cliff caught up with me. "What's that?" he said, peering over my shoulder to read what the note said.

"Be back soon," he read out loud. He paused before continuing. "Where do you think they are?"

"I don't know," I said. _Why would I know? _I felt like saying. _I only just arrived here at the same time as you. _

I stuck the note back on the door, as I wasn't sure what else I should do with it, and turned to look at Cliff. He spoke before I did. "What should we do now?"

I tested the doorknob. It was unlocked. "We could go inside and wait for them there." I suggested.

"But … wouldn't they … does Jack mind?" Cliff said. He seemed shocked and almost appalled that I would even _think_ of trespassing on someone's property.

"Well, I know Jill wouldn't mind," I said. "And if they're anything alike, then Jack wouldn't mind either. Come on, let's go." I said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him inside the door that I had opened. He had no choice but to follow with a reluctant expression on his face.

The room we entered was completely dark, as the shades were drawn over the windows and no lights were turned on. Cliff had stupidly shut the door behind us, so I stumbled around until my eyes adjusted to the dark. I could almost barely make out a figure that looked like a lamp. I made my way over, and -

_CRASH!_

"What was that?" Cliff said. His voice was way over on the other side of the room. Out of nowhere a light came pouring into the room. He had gone to the window and opened the shades. I stood looking at a mess of broken porcelain before me. In my attempt to blindly turn the lamp on, I had knocked it over, and there it lay on the floor … broken.

I looked at him, and his glance switched occasionally from me to the mess on the floor. Neither of us spoke, so finally I stuttered, "I … I didn't know it was there. I was just trying to turn on the light!"

His expression softened and time seemed to start moving again now that the silence had been broken (just like the lamp). However, he still didn't say anything. And I was glad, too. He could have started gloating, saying things like, "I told you we shouldn't have come in here!" Or, "Dang, Ann, do you have to be such a klutz?" Or maybe even, "Jack's gonna kill you…" But thankfully he said exactly what I wanted him to say; nothing.

"What should we do?" I finally said.

"Clean it up," he offered. Walking over to where I was still standing dumbly by the broken lamp, he started picking up the large pieces.

"Cliff, don't -" I started to say, but it was too late. As he was picking up the broken shards, his hand brushed against a particularly sharp piece and he recoiled in pain, only to reveal to me a second later that his hand was bleeding on the top.

"Are you okay?" I said.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he answered, holding his wounded hand close to himself and inspecting it.

"Can I see …" I held out my hand to look at it to make sure it wasn't going to get infected or something, but he drew back.

"No, it's okay. I've gotten plenty of cuts and bruises before. It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure you don't want a bandage or something?" I was slightly annoyed at him for not taking better care of himself.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it's just a little scrape."

"Well, you don't want to get blood on your clothes." I said, trying to convince him to at least put something on it.

"It'll wash out."

"You don't want to get blood on any of Jack's things." I said.

He hesitated, seeing that he had been beat. Normally I would have been delighted and secretly thought to myself, "Score one for Ann," on winning this argument, but this was no laughing matter; Cliff was hurt, after all.

"I guess you're right," he said.

"Stay here for now," I said as I started walking toward another door in the room. "I'll look for a bandage or something." I opened up the door I was headed for and sure enough, just as I suspected, it lead to a bathroom. Opening up the medicine cabinet, I smiled with satisfaction when I noticed a bandage sitting there next to some antiseptic. I took both of them out and grabbed some tissues on the way out. As I approached Cliff, I said, "Hold out your hand." He didn't object. I took his hand in mine and wiped away the blood. No, this didn't gross me out like it would a lot of girls. I had my share of cuts and scrapes when I was a kid. I'd watched my dad fix me up plenty of times and I was used to it.

I threw the tissue in a nearby trashcan and then took out the antiseptic. I blotted some onto the other tissue I held, and said, "This might sting a little …" I then pressed it against Cliff's hand. He didn't wince at all, and I was kind of surprised. I was half tempted to ask him if it even did sting, but decided that was unimportant for the time being.

And the final procedure, of course, was to wrap the bandage around him. I did so, and he didn't complain at all. In fact, I'd almost go so far as to say that I think he liked me playing nurse … but I'd never admit to anyone that I also kind of liked it too.

"There," I said as I finished up. He, almost inaudibly, mumbled a thank you while I went to put the antiseptic back in the medicine cabinet. When I came back I said, "So, now what about this mess?"

"I guess it'd be easier if we had a broom and dustpan." he said.

"Good idea." I said. I looked around and sure enough, there were those very things we needed sitting in one of the corners of the room. I walked over to retrieve them, and almost got around to sweeping up the mess, when Cliff gently took the broom from me and said, "I'll sweep, you hold the dustpan. After all, I can't just sit back and watch you do all the work."

"But you did that when I was fixing your cut," I teased as I bent down to hold the dustpan in place.

"You seemed like you knew what you were doing," he said. I didn't look at him, but the way he spoke it revealed to me that he was smiling.

After we swept up the mess, I walked over to the large trashcan and dumped what was left of the lamp into it. Cliff put the broom back and wiped his hands together, as if he had just finished some heavy labor requiring job.

"I hope Jack wasn't too attached to that lamp." he said.

"Yeah, me too." I answered. Although truthfully, I wasn't too worried about what Jack would say right now. My mind was too busy realizing that this was the first time me and Cliff had actually had a normal, not to mention enjoyable, conversation in a long time. This made me think how silly it was for us to get mad at each other over something that Popuri said, even if it did used to be true. Well, it wasn't true anymore. I didn't mind serving him, and I certainly would go out with him if he asked me. Remembering my decision to be more brash and spontaneous like I used to be, I took a deep breath and started talking.

"Cliff," I said. "There's something we need to-"

I was interrupted by the untimely opening of the front door. Cliff and I both turned immediately to see Jack and Jill walking through the front door. Upon seeing the lampshade that Cliff was holding in his hands, as that part didn't break in the fall, Jack stopped in his tracks and said,

"What happened to my lamp?"

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	12. Hostile Feelings

**Okay, here's chapter 12. Just some fun facts about this story: the chapter with the most hits besides chapter 1 is Chapter Five with 104 hits. It's also the longest chapter I've written so far (based on words). That's the chapter where Ann has those dreams, by the way. I guess people like that one a lot. shrugs I just thought that was interesting, seeing as it has a pretty good amount of hits compared to other chapters. Okay well enough rambling from me, here's the next chapter! **

I could only stare dumbly at Jack and Jill as they stood in the doorway; Jack expectantly awaiting an answer to his innocent question and Jill standing there with half of a what-are-you-doing-in-here look; the other half was along the lines of what-is-going-on? I glanced at Cliff and saw that he was going to make no move to answer; and why should he? He didn't even know these people. I was the one who dragged him down here to meet them, I was the one who said Jill wouldn't mind if we went inside the house, I was the one that _broke_ the lamp, after all. I figured I should also be the one to do the talking.

"Well I came down here to help," I started out, not realizing that my offer of help was very general. I guess I expected Jack to figure out that by 'help' I meant aiding him in unpacking. "And we saw your note on the door and thought we'd wait for you … inside." It sounded so much more pathetic and intruding when you actually put it into words. See, as a thought in my head, it just sounded like we were casually waiting around. But once the excuse popped out of my mouth, well, I realized how rude it seemed.

"And you decided breaking my lamp would be a nice housewarming present?" Jack asked, scratching his head, sounding more confused than angry -- thankfully.

"Oh, no!" I said. "I kind of accidentally knocked it over since it was so dark when we came in here. We cleaned it up though." I said, hoping to appease him. "And if it's any help, we, um … _I_ can buy you a new one."

"Uh," he made a weird noise, kind of between a sigh and the type of noise someone makes when they're not sure what to say. He shrugged with one hand while reaching up to run the other one through his thick brown hair. "I guess."

I took that as his way of forgiving me and accepting my offer of buying him a new one. "Great," I said. "I'm _so_ sorry though. I hope it's not too much trouble…"

"No, no …" he said, though his face said otherwise. "Not at all."

"I have your lampshade." Cliff offered, not sure what to do at an awkward moment like this. He held it up for Jack to see, though I was sure the new farmer had already noticed that.

"Oh thanks," Jack said unenthusiastically, walking over to where Cliff stood. "I'll take that off your hands." Cliff silently handed the lampshade to Jack, and he hesitatingly walked over to his closet, as if he was still a little shocked at walking through his front door to find that particular scene.

Jill walked over to where I stood, my face a little red due to embarrassment.

"Ann!" she hissed, and I was surprised. "What are you doing coming in here like that and breaking my cousin's lamp?"

"I'm sorry!" I hissed back. "Excuse me for not being able to see in the dark; it must be hard for a _super human _like you to understand!" My voice dripped with sarcasm, and even I felt a little guilty about what I had just said. But there was no taking it back.

Jill made a surprised oh-no-you-didn't face and was about to spit something back at me when Jack walked back into earshot.

"So, you must be Ann." He said, extending his hand to greet me. He seemed a little calmed down, but still, I could tell he was a little unnerved by his rude welcoming.

"That's me," I said, holding my hand out to shake his.

"Jill told me you lived and worked at the local Inn."

"Yeah," I nodded. "My father owns it. He's been running it for several years. It's also a restaurant, so stop by any time you get hungry."

"I'll remember that," Jack said.

"Oh," I said, as if I had been forgetting something. "And this is Cliff." I stepped back to let Cliff come forward and shake Jack's hand. "He's a traveler who is staying at the Inn right now."

"Nice to meet you," Jack said.

"Likewise," Cliff responded.

"We're here to help you unpack, or with anything else you might need help with." I said. "You know, if you maybe wanted to see the town, meet the other villagers … things like that."

"Well, thank you." Jack said. "For now I think Jill's got it covered. She's been showing me around the farm lot. We took a look in the barn and chicken coop. I've been watching her demonstrate on how to do things. That's what we were doing, actually, when we came back to find you guys in here."

"Oh," I said. "Well, if you're sure you don't need any help…"

"We're fine," Jill interjected. "Thanks for offering though."

I was a little disappointed that Jill was treating me this way. I mean, the whole lamp thing was an _accident_ after all. She seemed almost more upset than Jack was, and it wasn't even her lamp! It's not like I went out and shot one of the chickens or something. It was a stupid lamp for crying out loud … and I thought we were friends! Since when did something like a porcelain object come between us? What in the world was the matter with her? I suddenly found myself being pushed outside.

"Bye Ann." Jill said as we walked out the door, questions still swirling around my head. I turned to wave goodbye only to see Jill smile sweetly and wave flirtatiously to Cliff. "Bye Cliff…"

"Bye," Cliff said back, seemingly unmoved by her. Jack stood at the doorway and watched us go, as if he needed to see us leave to make sure his house was safe once again.

"Well, that didn't go as planned." I said dejectedly after we were off Jack's property and on our way back to the Inn.

Cliff shrugged. "It wasn't _so_ bad." When his hand came into view I remembered that he had cut himself on the broken lamp shards.

"So, your hand's doing okay, right?" I said casually.

"What?" he said. He looked at his hand. "Oh yeah -- it's fine. I almost forgot it was cut."

"That's good." I said, deciding to change the subject back to Jack and Jill. "So … Jack seemed like a nice person."

"So did Jill." he responded.

"Well," I said. "She seemed a little mad at me."

"Did she?" Cliff said. "I hadn't noticed."

_Well, duh. _I felt like saying. _You didn't hear the words we exchanged and obviously didn't notice the way she was trying to get your attention as we left. _I don't know if Jill suspected I liked Cliff, or suspected we were together, but it seemed rather suspicious that she should be trying to get him to notice her when she already had a boyfriend! It was like she was trying to get even with me after what I did to her cousin's lamp. Which made me question once again -- what was the big deal?

"It was just a stupid lamp!" I said.

"… huh?" Cliff asked, confused.

"Oh, sorry," I said, not realizing I had muttered that out loud. "Nothing. I just think Jill was mad at me for breaking Jack's lamp."

"Well, you guys are friends right?" I didn't respond. "I'm sure she's not that mad. Or if she is, it won't last long. She's probably just a little stressed about all this."

"Yeah I guess." I mumbled. We walked the rest of the way back to the Inn in silence. I was way too preoccupied with thoughts about people hating me - like Jack and Jill - that I didn't even really notice that me and Cliff weren't on such bad terms anymore. We were talking like normal people, heck, I even confided in him by telling him I thought Jill was mad at me. And he tried to console me about it. Maybe this relationship was going to work out after all. Maybe things weren't so bad…

Once we reached the Inn, I opened the double doors and we both walked inside. Upon entering, I realized I had nothing to do for the rest of the day, so I ventured to be more spontaneous.

"Hey Cliff…" I said as he started heading for the stairs, presumably to go to his room and do whatever. He turned around to look at me. "Yeah?" He asked.

"Well, I was wondering … if you're not really doing anything for the rest of the day … seeing as how it's near lunch and all, I was thinking maybe you wanted to go to Kai's Seaside Lodge for a bite? It is the last day of Summer after all, and I haven't been once this whole season yet."

A smile erupted on his face. "That sounds like fun."

"Well, I'm ready if you are."

"Let's go." he said, walking back to where I stood. He opened the door for me this time, and we both walked out, headed for the beach. For a second I forgot about Jill and her hostile attitude toward me. I was glad this had worked out for the better; especially since my dad wasn't there to watch us go together.

Jill's POV

"You didn't seem exactly _excited_ to see Ann," my cousin Jack pointed out after the two of them left.

"I have my reasons," I responded, remembering the conversation I had with Ann's dad. "Besides, you didn't exactly seem happy to find your housewarming gift," I said, trying not to smile as I remembered the rather amusing face Jack had made when he saw Cliff holding the remains of his lamp.

"And I thought you had a boyfriend, missy!" Jack said, pointing an accusing finger at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said. "Yeah, I have a boyfriend -- is that a problem?"

"I saw the way you waved at Cliff today. 'Bye Cliff!'" Jack said, doing his best imitation of me, which was really just an over exaggeration of my wave as he batted his eyelashes.

"I did not do that!" I said, reddening in the face because I was lying, not because I was attracted to Cliff. I wasn't. He was a nice guy, but I already had a man. I cringed, realizing the possible consequences of continuing this charade. By pretending to like Cliff, I was setting Ann up for some major jealousy problems; both me and her dad were hoping this would get them back together. But all of the sudden I realized two things: Cliff might become attracted to me … or worse, _I_ might become attracted to _him_.

"Don't act like you have no idea what I'm talking about," Jack said, turning his back on me to start straightening the bedspread he had put on the bed earlier that morning. "I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, but don't you think it's a little harsh to be cheating on Marlin?"

"I'm not cheating on Marlin, okay?" I said, exasperated. "I'm doing a favor for Ann!"

"A favor, eh?" he said in a tone that obviously said he didn't believe me.

"It's true! I called Doug's Inn the other day to let Ann know I'd be coming down to Mineral Town for a little bit to help you out. Her father answered the phone and told me that she was having troubles with Cliff … you know, the kind of troubles you get when you're in a rut with a guy you like?"

"I wouldn't know," Jack said teasingly. "I've never had any troubles with guys before."

"You know what I mean!" I said, tempted to throw something at him. However there was nothing close at hand that wouldn't break on contact, so I restrained. "But anyway, her dad was hoping that when I came down, I could pretend to like Cliff and maybe that would get Ann jealous. Then maybe she'd make a move."

"And why doesn't Cliff?" Jack asked, fluffing the pillow.

"Apparently he's really shy. At least around Ann." I said. "And I know you wouldn't know this, because you only just met Ann today, but she's the really stubborn and independent type. It probably took her a while to even admit to herself that she liked Cliff. We can't just let them walk away from each other."

"Alright," Jack said. "I'm in."

I paused, staring at him. "But I didn't ask you for help."

"I'm in anyway." He said. "This sounds like too much fun."

"This isn't _fun, _this is _serious_." I rolled my eyes. "Whether or not Ann ends up spending the rest of her life with this guy depends on us!"

"Don't worry, I won't let the pressure get to me," he said smiling. I sighed. He obviously did not understand the gravity of this situation, nor the responsibility the both of us held.

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" Jack asked, having finally finished neatening up his bed.

"Hm," I said, thinking through our options. "I think I have a plan…"

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	13. Seaside Lodge Incident

**Chapter 13 has landed. Sorry for waiting for however long before updating; this week was so busy for me! It seemed to drag on _forever_. But still, thanks to all my reviewers! You guys made me want to keep writing the story and so patiently waited during a few long hiatuses until I updated. So here is chapter thirteen…**

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Ann's POV (again)

The last day of Summer, and I'm so glad I spent it with Cliff at Kai's Seaside Lodge. It's a good thing I was able to ask him to accompany me there and he said yes. And it's also a good thing that neither of us felt awkward or uncomfortable the entire time we were there.

The warm sand crunched beneath our shoes as we made our way to the tiny white building placed on the beach. Had it not been for Zack's house, which was right next door, the lodge would have looked so inappropriate as a lone building placed in such a natural setting.

I wasn't surprised that, after opening the door and hearing the little bell chime, I saw Popuri standing with Kai behind the counter. The two of them were having a lively chat. Her giggles filled the room as me and Cliff walked in.

"Oh, hello!" she squealed, turning momentarily to greet us once she heard the bell ring and saw us walk inside.

"Hi, Popuri." I said back to her. Cliff said hi as well. I was going to try to be nice to her today. I took a deep breath as I thought, _here's hoping she won't say something stupid in front of Cliff._

"Hey Ann," Kai greeted me. He was a friendly guy. Good looking, too, I'll admit that (just because I'm the independent type doesn't mean I can't find men attractive). He was a little too much of a ladies' man for me, though, and yet somehow Popuri seemed to tolerate him.

"Oh, this is Cliff," I said, turning to Cliff as I pushed him forward very gently. I realized that Kai, having just gotten here this Summer, probably had never been formally introduced to Cliff.

"Nice to meet you, Cliff," Kai said. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from a lot of places," Cliff said, a response very similar to the one he gave me when I asked him the same question. "I've been traveling ever since I was young. I move around so much and so often that I can't say there's exactly one place I come from."

"Kind of like me," Kai said, sensing a kindred spirit in Cliff. "Except I only move back and forth between two places; here and the city. But I know what it's like to travel." Cliff nodded in response.

"So, what would you guys like?" Popuri asked. "You can go sit at that table right there …" she said, pointing to a table. We went over and the pink-haired girl followed us. "I'll take your order to Kai and he can cook it up for you. It won't take long at all to make, whatever it is!" She giggled. "None of the items on the menu take that long to make."

"What do you want, Cliff?" I asked. "I've had every item on the menu at least twice, since Kai's been coming here every Summer for the past five years or so. It doesn't matter to me what we get."

"How about we just split a pizza?" he asked, looking up from his menu. I don't know what it was, but his brown eyes made me melt at that moment. Just the way he looked up with a cute, inquisitive look in his eyes …

"That's … fine." I said, trying not to look like I was staring.

"Alrighty then, one pizza, coming up in about five minutes!" Popuri said happily. She skipped away, probably eager to get back to her beau. That was fine with me. I was eager for her to leave.

"This is a nice place." Cliff said, taking a brief glance around to take in the surroundings.

"Yeah, it is." I said. "Too bad it doesn't get that much business. No shops really do in this small town."

Cliff nodded. "But this is a nice town. I like it here."

"That's good." I said. "I like it here, too."

"I wish I could live here permanently."

A wistful look crossed my face for just a second. I didn't want to appear weak. "Then do stay." I suggested quietly.

He lowered his eyes and looked down at the salt and pepper shakers that sat rigidly on the table. "I'm running out of money. I know your dad gave me a good deal on the room, but my spare change hasn't exactly been enough to pay for the rent. I already owe your dad."

I'm sure for a moment there I was the picture of dejection. I can only say that I'm glad he wasn't looking at me to see the uncharacteristic expression.

"Is there no way for you to earn some money?"

He shrugged. "If I could think of something - anything - I'd do it. But everything in this town seems to run like clockwork. You guys have everything figured out. No one needs a hired hand."

"There must be _something_ you can do." I said, desperate to think of a way for Cliff to stay. He couldn't just leave, not when we were finally starting to get along! Not when I was so close to actually, possibly, _maybe_ having a boyfriend - one who actually liked me for me and wasn't forced and/or tricked into dating me by my dad. Wait a second … my dad!

"Maybe you could work at the Inn to pay your rent." I suggested.

He seemed to perk up a little bit, and he looked in my eyes as he spoke. "Does your dad need any help?"

"I'm not sure." I said. "But I'm sure we could find something for you to do. A little extra help wouldn't hurt, right?"

"No, it wouldn't." Cliff said. "Thanks, Ann. I really appreciate it." He smiled.

"No problem," I answered quietly, and I smiled back at him.

"Pizza's ready!" Popuri called from across the room, cheerily skipping across the room with our food balanced on one hand. I saw the disaster coming before it even happened.

"Popuri -" I started to yell out a warning, but it was too late. Popuri tripped over her own feet and sent the pizza flying across the room. Cliff skillfully ducked to dodge the food that had been heading for him. We all turned to watch in horror about what was about to take place next.

Through the glass doors I could see Jack and Jill approaching the lodge. What they were doing here, I didn't know, though it was likely they came to get some lunch (that's what everyone does when they come to Kai's Lodge, obviously). Jill was a couple steps in front of Jack and reached out to open the door and step inside. Her timing was impeccably perfect - just as she opened the door the pizza landed smack in her face. It was the most hilarious and surprising thing I've witnessed in my life. Never have I had such an urge to burst out laughing while at the same time I wanted to just sit there with my mouth gaping wide open.

Popuri recovered from her fallen state to observe where the food had landed, and Kai came running out from the kitchen when he heard his girlfriend hit the floor with a thud. I'm sure his presence also had something to do with the amusing sound the pizza made when it hit Jill's face.

Though I'm sure it was in reality only a second or two, it seemed that everyone stared speechless at Jill for a very long time. She very slowly and deliberately moved her hand toward her face and wiped off the remaining sauce and cheese that had stuck to her face after the whole pizza itself slid off her visage and onto the floor. To say the least, she didn't look happy.

I heard a strange noise coming from behind Jill. I glanced at Jack who was red in the face as he attempted not to burst out laughing. It was no use. His laugh probably could be heard back at the Inn as he stood there with tears in his eyes, doubling up with laughter, his antics aimed mercilessly as his cousin, who only glared in response.

"Shut … up …" Jill finally managed to say between her teeth. Jack only wiped a tear from his eye, and finally calmed down enough to say,

"You give a whole new meaning to that cruel nickname I used to call you when we were teenagers …" he started laughing again, obviously having too much fun with the whole situation.

"Don't say it!" Jill yelled, though Jack was determined to have his entertainment.

"Pi-"

"I said, _don't say it_!"

"P-p-p-" Jack was close to bursting out with laughter again.

"I'm warning you…" Jill said, this time barely above a whisper.

"PIZZA FACE!" Jack managed to scream out, and he started laughing all over again. The rest of us sort of just sat there, half amused by the whole scene, half a little weirded-out as well. And maybe just a touch uncomfortable that this whole family fight was about to erupt in front of two unsuspecting couples.

"I'm so sorry, Pizza Face!" Popuri said, running to help Jill wipe the rest of herself off, as the enthusiastic young waitress had grabbed a towel with the intention of helping Jill.

"My name is Jill!" she said, not amused that her cousin had managed to embarrass her even more than she thought possible.

"Sorry, I didn't know your name, and -"

"Popuri, just -" I said, trying to stop her before she said anything she might regret.

"Thanks," Jill managed to say, interrupting me while I was in the middle of interrupting Popuri. By this time me and Cliff had gotten up from our seats and walked over to where Jack and Jill stood. Popuri stepped to the side to get out of our way, and Kai was walking on over.

Jack had finally calmed down, and in a way, I was jealous of him. It was okay for _him_ to burst out laughing at his cousin's misfortunes, and oh man, how I so wanted to laugh with him! If only I had a camera with me at that moment, the blackmailing possibilities would have been endless … but that's off the subject. What I was saying, was that Jack stood there behind Jill, watching her wipe her face off, and I couldn't help but notice a glint of mischief in his eyes and a small smirk on his face. He had a boyish look to him, what with his slightly tousled hair that was my favorite shade of chocolate, and his long dark eyelashes that I thought were enough to make any girl jealous. Why was it that guys were always gifted with the naturally long eyelashes while girls had to put mascara on and curl theirs to make them look pretty? Now's not a time to get into the basics of that, though I'm sure Popuri would be happy to tell you all about it. But this is my story, not hers.

Anyway, while I was getting caught up in my thoughts, that one glance at Jack made me question everything that compelled me go to the Seaside Lodge with Cliff in the first place. Jack was so devilishly handsome while Cliff was just cute. Jack was so wild and spontaneous, and Cliff was just sweet and shy. So the question was, which personality did I like better?

I took another look at Cliff. He looked concerned that Jill had been so embarrassed by being hit with a flying pizza and her cousin's cruel teenage jokes, and yet his concerned nature made me melt, just like his eyes had. Cliff really was the one for me … wasn't he?

"Are you okay, Jill?" Cliff had said.

"Oh, well, you know," Jill shrugged. "I've seen worse than flying pizzas."

Cliff smiled at her humor and a jealous streak raged in me. _That wasn't even funny!_ I thought to myself. _Now I know she's trying to steal Cliff! That flirtatious wave, that corny joke … it's all coming together, like pieces to a puzzle…_

Jack interrupted my maniacal thoughts with an apology. "Hey Jill, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up how I so cruelly made fun of your pimple-induced problems in those halcyon days of old …" He dramatically put a hand on her shoulder, impressed with his own performance (and use of a sophisticated sounding word), while she was obviously still a little sore.

"Forget it," she said.

"Great," he said, changing his mood from apologetically nostalgic back to normal. "Then let's order some lunch, 'kay? I'm hungry." He started walking toward the table that me and Cliff had been occupying earlier. He sat in the seat that was next to the one I was previously sitting in.

"You mind if I sit here, Ann?"

"Um, no, go ahead." I took my seat next to him and Cliff walked over to where the final empty chair was next to Jill. I really wanted to switch seats with her so that _I _would be the one next to Cliff, not her, but that would be pointless and rude to ask her to switch, so I restrained.

"Hello again," Popuri said. "What would you guys like to get? Another pizza maybe?"

"That's fine," Jill said. "Make it two pizzas."

"And a round of drinks, too," I added. "Water will be fine for me." The rest of the group agreed with my decision to drink water.

"Okay," Popuri said. "And Jill, I am _sooooo_ sorry! I'm really, really, really…" Kai came and gently pulled Popuri back into the kitchen area to help him prepare the food while she continued with her train of "really's" to express how sorry she was to poor Jill.

"That was an experience to remember," Cliff stated, turning to Jill. "Are you sure you're okay?"

What, was he worried she got some sauce in her eye or some cheese up her nose? Of course she was fine! He didn't need to keep doting on her!

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quietly, and she blushed a little bit. Cliff did a little smile and looked down at his hands. _What's this? _I thought. He can't like her! _This … isn't supposed to be happening! _

As if on cue, Jack spread out his arm and rested it on the back of my chair. "Hope you don't mind," he said with a smile when I turned to look at him. "Old habits die hard."

"It's fine," I said, turning away, feeling myself blush a little bit. It was almost as if he completely forgot about the lamp incident and was almost … maybe … flirting with me? My thoughts buzzed through my mind with amazing speed, though I couldn't make sense of any of them. The only thing that kept playing over and over, like a broken record, was one phrase.

Maybe _Jack _is the one for me.

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… **Ahhh! I'm so excited! I know I'm the author of this story but it still makes me anxious to write the next chapter! I'll try to update sooner next time!**


	14. Of Consciences and Cooking

**Oh no! It's been so long! I'm _so _sorry! I hope everyone who had previously been reading this fic has not lost interest due to my inability to update faster. I beg your forgiveness! Enjoy the chapter :)**

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Jack. _Jack_. It was a cute name. I liked it. And I liked a certain farmer who happened to have that cute name. But now I was confused - and I mean more than usual. On one hand, there was Jack: nice, muscular farmer who just moved in real close to my house and was totally single. And hot. On the other hand, there was Cliff: sweet, loving, concerned Cliff. The guy who lived in the Inn with me. The guy I promised to help get a job.

Oh yeah! A _job_. At the _Inn_.

I didn't remember my promise to him until we started, all four of us, walking back to the Inn. It was after our lunch, which went pretty well after the whole pizza-in-Jill's-face episode, and we decided to go back to the Inn for dessert and a drink. Personally, I'm not one to drink much wine, but I was having such a good time that I decided this was a special occasion. I almost half-considered inviting Karen and Rick over, since they both like to drink, but ended up deciding against that. We did, however, invited Popuri and Kai to come back with us but they needed to stay and take care of the Lodge in case any more customers came. I didn't see that happening, though. Not many people go to Kai's Seaside Lodge to eat (not many people actually _live_ in the village in the first place).

"Cliff!" I suddenly burst out when I remembered the whole job thing. "I completely forgot! You still wanted that job at the Inn right? I'll ask my dad once we get there." He looked grateful, and maybe like he was about to say something, when Jack interrupted.

"Job? Do you need a job, Cliff?" Without waiting for him to respond, Jack continued. "You could always be a hired hand on my farm. I could use all the help I could get, at least in the beginning. After a while I'm sure I'll have the hang of things."

"That would be great," Jill interrupted. "I could show both of you the ropes; that way, Cliff could help out on Jack's farm after I leave."

Huh? Jill was going to be showing Cliff how to do farm work? That means they would spend hours together on the farm, just the two of them … together … alone. Wait, Jack would be there. But then that would leave me alone doing nothing. It was like they were planning a 'party without Ann' all while I was right there. The nerve! Organizing some time together, without me, all while I was standing right there. And yet, in the midst of my internal raving, two words crossed my mind: over analytic!

Luckily for me, Jack started talking and catapulted me back into reality.

"You could come, too Ann, if you wanted. Actually, I was beginning to realize that I'll have to start cooking all my own meals. Maybe you could show me how to cook up some dishes while Jill shows Cliff some farm-related work." When I didn't respond, as I was too busy thinking through what he'd said and the possibility that he was flirting with me, he continued talking. "I just assumed you were a good cook since you're dad runs an Inn-restaurant type thing."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, I'm a good cook." I said, his words finally processing in my mind. "Sure, I can show you some easy recipes."

"Great," he said.

"How about we start on that now?" Jill suggested.

"I thought we were going to the Inn for some drinks," Jack said.

"Well, if you guys really want to, I mean, sure we can …" Jill trailed off. I could tell that she wasn't one to drink too much, and maybe she wasn't looking forward to going to the Inn with the rest of us. It would be nice of me to do something, like agree with her and vote for not going to the Inn. But she's been all over Cliff lately. _And you've been all over Jack!_ What? No I haven't! I started arguing with that little voice in my head. At first I thought I was crazy, but then I realized it was probably my conscience. Everyone has a conscience, right? Sometimes it just speaks a lot louder than it does other times, and sometimes other people even get the privilege of seeing their conscience, as when it is outside of your body it takes the form of a friendly little cricket … or, no, wait -- maybe I _was _going crazy!

But I told myself, it doesn't matter if I'm starting to like Jack and still like Cliff as well. Jill's just as bad; she has a boyfriend, after all, and here she is trying to steal Cliff from me.

_Either way, you have to make a decision_, my conscience told me. _It doesn't matter what happens to Jill, you can't have both Jack and Cliff. At least not at the same time. _

As much as I hated to admit it, my conscience was right. I needed to give up hope on either Cliff or Jack. But which one? Maybe I should spend time alone with the both of them to make my decision. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

"I agree with Jill," I said. "I think we should just go right to Jack's farm so we can start learning how to cook and work on the farm. After all, we all need to … learn, right?" I said rather pathetically. Jack just started laughing.

"Good thinking, Ann." He said. "Learning is important. Come on, let's go."

We all took the turn that would lead us to Jack's farm. Once we got there, Jill lead Cliff into the barn, I guess to start showing him how to care for the animals, and Jack and I went into the house. He flipped on the light switch and led me to the small area of the room that was used as a kitchen.

"Okay. So …" he paused. "Where do we begin?"

I sighed. "Have you ever cooked anything? Ever?"

"Well," he said, putting on a thoughtful face that made it hard for me not to stare. "I've made breakfast - specifically cold cereal and milk. I've thrown a frozen pizza into to the oven and cooked until the edges of the cheese were a delicious golden-brown."

I laughed at his antics, as his words were accompanied by funny gestures and amusing facial expressions. I could tell he was trying to look like he knew what he was doing, but he was failing miserably.

"Okay, let's start with something simple, like toast." I paused and made an incredulous expression. "You _do_ know how to make toast, don't you?"

"Sure. Stick some bread in the toaster and wait until you hear it pop. Then you're done."

"Okay, fair enough." I said as if it were some kind of contest about one's knowledge of cooking. "How about pizza? _Not_ the frozen kind." I quickly added on the end.

"Well I guess you do … what, take some dough, then spread on some sauce, then sprinkle some cheese and cook. Right?"

"Close." I said. "You need to know how to make the dough and shape it -- it can't be too thick or it won't cook all the way through, but if it's too thin, you might burn it."

"Alright, you got me," He said, throwing his hands into the air. "I can't make pizza unless it's the frozen kind. So, let's begin!"

I giggled. "Alright, let's start."

**Jill's POV**

I turned and watched Jack and Ann walk into the house, feeling a little guilty. For a second I wasn't sure if our little plan was working. Ann seemed to be a little too comfortable around Jack. And either Jack was a really good actor, or he was getting a little comfortable himself as well.

I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself down a little bit. _You can do this, Jill_. I told myself. I could continue with the plan, which was to make Ann or Cliff (or both of them) jealous so that they'd get back together. I could do it and still not fall for Cliff. Besides, I already had a boyfriend. And he didn't deserve to be cheated on.

"So, Cliff." I said, trying to start a conversation. "Have you ever worked with animals before?"

"I've encountered them a lot on my travels," he responded. "But no, not really other than that. At least, I've never really worked with any domestic animals."

"Well, if you've worked with wild animals, I can't imagine domesticated animals being any more difficult. In fact," I said, opening the barn door. "they'll be easier."

"I figured as much," Cliff said, half smiling.

I led him into the barn, making sure the door was shut behind him. Jack didn't really have that many animals to begin with -- just a small sheep and a young calf. They were both pretty calm and I doubted they would give either me or Cliff any trouble.

"I'll show you how to milk a cow," I said, approaching the calf. "Now, this one won't give any milk because she's still too young. But it's good to learn the technique while you still can."

"Okay," Cliff said, coming up behind me, looking determined and ready for anything. I had to shake my head and tightly close my eyes in order not to stare into his eyes.

"What's the matter?" He asked with an inquisitive look in his eyes that gave him a childish quality I found irresistible. I swallowed hard before answering.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head again, though not as violently. "I'm fine." _I hope_. I silently added to myself.

**A Harvest Sprite's POV**

"Is that what's happening?" she asked me, her eyes full of worry and anticipation.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," I replied, scratching my head and looking away, not wanting to incur the wrath of the Harvest Goddess. Much to my surprise, she just sighed instead, her other-worldly eyes drooping into a sorrowful look.

"My work is never done, is it?"

"It's not really _your_ fault," I said, trying to make her feel better. "The humans didn't know what was going to happen. They thought it would help."

"Yes, I know." she replied. "They _were_ only trying to help. But in helping they are only making things worse by throwing themselves into the mix. They're ruining everything! My plan will need to be tweaked in order to work now!" Her eyes started to burn with a fire that I had never seen before in the Goddess -- at least not in this past week.

"Goddess?" I questioned, shrinking back ever so slightly.

"What, Nappy?" she sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Do you need any help?" I was trying to appease her. Hopefully it would work.

"I'll have to think about what my new plan will be first, my little helper." she said, sinking from a hovering position above the Goddess Pond to a sitting position on the edge of the grass as she gently swung her feet in the waters.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," I suggested, waddling over to where she sat. "Maybe they'll be happier this way."

She rose her head and stared off into the distance, as if she was seeing the future. And maybe she was. "They will be happy," she stated. "at first. But many other complications will follow." She snapped back into reality, shaking her head gently as she took on a tone of voice so soft that it surprised me. "These humans don't know what they are doing, falling in love with the wrong person."

I was trying to think of something to say, something to ease her feelings or perhaps an idea for a new plan. But nothing came to me. I looked up at her beautiful visage as she continued talking.

"It's my job to watch over this small town, Nappy. It's my duty to make sure the flow of events goes according to plan, to make sure that nothing too out of the ordinary happens that will throw this town out of whack. I was doing fine until this one came along -- this little red-head with a personality fiery enough to match her hair. She's a handful, I tell you. But I'm determined to make this work out."

"I know you can, Goddess," I said to the frazzled looking woman. "I know you can."


	15. Falling Apart

**Wheeeee another update! I'm glad everyone is still reading this. It's probably the most successful fic I've written yet (if you base the success of the fic on reviews and hits and how many people have it on their fave list and such). Hey, has anyone ever put their own story on their fave list? I haven't, but it just occurred to me that you could do that. XD That's funny. **

**Enjoy the read. :)**

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Flour was everywhere. I coughed violently, trying to get some of the white stuff out of my lungs. I must have inhaled a little bit of it, which actually wasn't such a surprise since the air was full of it. Once it settled a little bit, I glanced up at Jack; his hair tousled up and his face absolutely covered in flour. I couldn't help but start laughing at the expression on his face that clearly said, "That did _not_ just happen."

He snapped out of his trance and gave me a look. "I'm sorry," I said. "You just look so -- mpmfff…" I trailed off, laughter taking over once again.

"You don't look so hot yourself," he said, a smirk forming on his face.

"Oh really?" I said, putting my hands on my hips. "Do I look any more ridiculous than you? You, who has flour just about everywhere on you because you somehow managed to explode a whole bag of the stuff?"

"Well," he said, his voice softening. "I guess you're right about that. It'd take a lot to make you look ridiculous."

"Oh, I --" I immediately switched from looking into his eyes to looking anywhere else in the room. I did glance back at him just long enough to see him approach me and take one of the gloves off his hand. He dropped the flour-covered glove on the floor, and with his hand that wasn't covered in flour he gently wiped the flour off my mouth and kissed me in a very Spiderman-esque moment …

"Ann? Ann?" his voice broke the dream and I snapped back to reality. "Ann, how much flour am I supposed to put in this pizza dough mix?"

I paused for a moment, looking around just to make sure that the place wasn't covered in flour. It wasn't. I sighed inwardly, guessing that the kiss we shared was just a product of my overactive imagination.

"Two cups should do it." I answered. "Oh, don't drop that bag of flour," I added. "The flour will go everywhere."

"Don't worry, I've got it under control." he answered, scooping out two cups of flour and adding it to the big mixing bowl.

"That's good," I said, half wishing he would knock the bag off the counter so I could watch the soft, white substance fly everywhere, just like in my daydream.

**Jill's POV**

"Am I doing it right?" Cliff asked as he 'milked' the calf. Obviously no milk was coming out, as she was still very young, but like I'd told Cliff, it was good to learn the technique as early as possible.

"Well, um, not exactly," I said, not wanting to sound like I was carping on him. But I had to say something, or he'd never learn. Besides, the calf was looking undoubtedly uncomfortable.

"Look," I said, bending down and putting my hands over his. "Do it more like this…" I gently pulled as I showed him the correct technique for milking a cow.

"Thanks," he said. "I think I get it now."

"That's good," I said, half wishing he still didn't understand so that I could keep my hands over his.

"I guess all I have to learn now is how to shear a sheep." he said, standing up. I stood up as well.

"That's pretty self-explanatory." I said, suddenly realizing that I shouldn't spend any more time with him alone or things might get out of control. "All you do is take the scissors and cut as close to the skin as possible."

"But-"

"I think we're done in here, let's go see how Ann and Jack are doing, okay?" I grabbed his wrist in a very uncharacteristic fashion and pulled him out of the barn before he could protest, or before another temptation would come over me.

**Ann's POV**

"There, I'm done kneading the dough," Jack said, taking his knuckles out of the mixing bowl. "It actually looks edible!" He said, sounding proud.

"Yes, Jack, it's supposed to look that way," I said, teasing him.

"Now what?" he asked, ignoring what I had just said.

"Now we need to shape it and add the ingredients, then put it in the oven and bake to perfection."

"Sounds simple enough."

I didn't get the chance to respond because the door started to open, and both Jack and I turned our heads to see who it was that was entering his house. In walked Jill and Cliff. Of course I should have seen that coming because they are probably the only ones who would come in without knocking.

"Oh, hey guys," Jack said. "Look at this! I made pizza dough. Doesn't it smell scrumptious?"

"Sure does," Jill said, trying to make him feel good about his accomplishment. "We're done in the barn already. I showed Cliff how to milk a cow."

"Shelby gives milk?" Jack asked incredulously, his eyes widening.

"No, of course not!" Jill said, laughing a little bit. "I just showed him how to do it so that when Shelby _is _old enough to give milk, he'll be able to milk her and help you out on the farm."

"Oh, okay." Jack said. "I was gonna say … "

"Shelby's a nice name," I said. "Do you have any other animals?"

"Yeah, a sheep." Jack replied. "I haven't thought of a name for her yet."

"Oh, can I name her?" I said with anticipation. For some reason the thought of naming an animal sounded like so much fun to me. Naming anything, actually, sounded like fun. Naming a store, naming a cat, naming a child …

"Uh, sure," Jack said, scratching his head. "Just run it by me first. I wouldn't want you to give it a strange name or anything like that."

"What makes you think I'd give it a strange name?"

"Nothing," he said, shrugging. "But when two people have, say, a baby, they both agree on the name. You don't just have one parent go ahead and name it without the other one's consent."

"That's a strange analogy, Jack," Jill said, giving him a look that I couldn't quite decipher. "Aren't _parent_ and _baby_ such strong words to use?"

"What -- strong? Jill, what are you talking about?" Jack said, although by the look on his face I could tell that he knew what she was talking about, despite the fact that both me and Cliff were left in the dark.

"I think you know what I'm talking about." Jill retorted. "And maybe you should just tell the whole world, too, so that nobody will get _jealous_ over anything else."

"Nobody's getting jealous over anything, Jill!" Jack said, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation.

"Exactly!" Jill said, pointing a finger at him. "Nobody's getting jealous! That's what your problem is!"

As much as I wanted to know what these two crazy cousins were talking about, the tension in the air was so thick I could have kneaded it up and stuck it in the oven to use as pizza dough. I could almost see Jill's face turning an angry shade of pink, and Jack looked like he would explode, like that imaginary bag of flour, any second now.

"Cliff," I said, gently elbowing him in the ribs. "I think we should go."

"Good idea," he said, looking just as anxious as I was to get out of there. We slowly inched towards the door, opening it and leaving while the two continued to yell at each other. Slamming the door behind us, we started a fast walk back to the Inn.

"That was a little …" I paused, looking for the word I wanted to use.

"Interesting?" Cliff said. I shrugged. Close enough.

"Yeah, _interesting_. I wonder what they were fighting about."

"With those two, you never know." Cliff said. "One minute their best friends, the next they're tearing at each other's throats."

"I noticed that," I said. "It seems that the tiniest little thing sets them off, but then they always seem to figure out how to resolve the problem."

"I guess that's what cousins do." Cliff said. "I wouldn't really know. I don't even know if I have any cousins of my own."

Now, I know Cliff wasn't _trying _to strike a pity chord in me, but he did. It was true, I realized, that he didn't know anything about his family. Remembering the story he told me back at the lake, I began to see that he truly didn't have anyone in the world. Orphaned at an early age and made into a traveler not much later, the only friend he had was himself.

"I'm sorry," I said.

He looked at me with an odd expression for a second. "It's okay," he responded. "It's not _your_ fault I don't have any cousins."

"I know," I said. And yet I couldn't help but feel that it _was _my fault he didn't have someone to love him. As Jack flashed through my mind, the realization hit me once again that I needed to make a decision between two very nice and likeable people. This wasn't going to be easy.

**Jill's POV**

"Hey, nice going, cuz." Jack said to me, calming down the second Ann and Cliff slipped out of the house. "We really had them going, didn't we? Although I must say, if you really wanted them out of the house, you probably just could have asked and they would have gone without question."

"Jack, I was being _serious_!" I answered, getting angry all over again at his thick head. "Remember the original plan here? I don't think you're making Cliff very jealous."

His happy expression slightly dimmed as he realized what I was saying. "You … don't think I'm making him jealous?"

"No!" I said. "The only thing you're succeeding at is making Ann like _you_!"

"Well maybe you're doing too good of a job at making _Cliff _like _you_!" He replied. "If you think about, I'm doing my job just fine. I'm making Ann like me. Now all you need to do is make Cliff realize that so he'll go after Ann again."

"Or maybe _you_ need to make Ann realize that Cliff likes me so that _she'll_ go after Cliff again." I said.

There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "Or maybe we need to figure out who exactly we're going to make jealous before the plan backfires and everybody ends up with the wrong person."

My shoulders dropped from their tense position to a more relaxed one as I realized he was right. "Well," I said, trying to think of something to say. "They're walking back to the Inn together now. Maybe that's helping."

He put on a doubtful expression. "Maybe," he said. "But I don't think so." He sat down at the kitchen table and I pulled up a chair and sat down as well. "Let's get things straight here. Ann and Cliff need to end up together. You and Marlin need to stay together as well. Let's not have this whole thing wreck your guys' relationship."

"Uh huh," I said. And, without thinking, I said something that I would come to regret later. "And that leaves you with …" I trailed off, realizing I probably shouldn't have said that, as Jack's love life currently wasn't part of the mix right now. He didn't answer and I saw in his expression that he came to find that this whole plan wasn't really benefiting him one bit. Who _would_ he end up with?

"I meant, uh, that leaves you _with _the job of wooing Ann so Cliff will get jealous." I quickly added that so that he didn't think he was being left out of anything. But he wasn't that slow. He knew I was just trying to cover up my mistake.

"Yeah…" he said quietly, pretending that he didn't catch on, though I could tell he did. "So, I guess we decided that we're going to try and make Cliff jealous and leave him to chase after Ann."

"I guess so," I said. "Now all we need to do is think of a good situation. Something that will have you and Ann together. Then Cliff will spy on you or something, or somehow find out, and he'll come after Ann, she'll go back with him, and everyone will be happy." I said with a grin pasted on my face.

"Happy … yeah." Jack said, his expression conflicting with the words he just spoke. He stood up from the table and headed towards the door, closing it gently behind him. I stood up and went to the window to watch where he was headed. I sighed as I saw that he was going to the barn, and I could almost hear him thinking the words, the words that I didn't want him to think, but at the same time, couldn't help but think myself …

_What if he doesn't want Cliff to come after Ann? What if he wants her to stay with him? _

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**Okay just to let you know, the reason it was a Spiderman-esque moment was because in the first movie, Mary Jane does that whole thing where she slides off his mask just partway and kisses him like that ... yeah I figured most of you would get it but I didn't want anyone to be confused. Oh yeah, and this has ended up being SO much longer than I thought it would (in a good way, though)! I honestly don't know how many more chapters this will end up being, but I _do_ know what the outcome of the whole love situation will be. I've known what the ending will be like, ever since I started writing it. **


	16. Decisions, Decisions

**Aha! Finally, another chapter of Practically Fate has landed. I hope to get another chapter out sometime around Christmas (either a few days before or after) because I won't be having school around that time. That'll give me the chance to update more often. I really hope everyone out there is enjoying the story so far, and thank you to everyone who took the time to review! It's up to 75 right now, let's see if we can hit 100 before the story ends, okay? -winkwink- Not that I'm expecting 25 reviews on this ONE chapter. But the story is definitely going to be _at least_ three more chapters before it's over. **

**Gah, enough rambling from me! Go ahead and read the chapter already! It starts out with Ann's POV, by the way.**

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I lay in my bed later that night, rethinking the whole situation over. Jack and Jill seemed pretty mad at each other when me and Cliff were finally able to slip out of there … but it bothered me that I didn't know what they had been talking about. It was pretty obvious that there was some underlying reason as to all those words they emphasized while talking. But what could it all mean? 

I shifted my weight to the side, placing my cold hands underneath my pillow to try and warm them up. The darkness of the night enveloped my room, except for one shining square, shaped like my window, that the moonlight cast on the floor below. On most nights, the darkness seemed to invite the town to slumber. But tonight, the darkness seemed almost alive, as if the night was saying, "Come out and play!" It seemed to have a magic about it that made me want to get up and join all the fairies and sprites that come out at night. Hesitatingly, I climbed out of my bed and slid my feet into my slippers, standing up as the blankets that were once wrapped around my body fell to my bed.

Stepping cautiously over to my window, as if something hiding in the shadows was going to pop out at me, I laid my hands on the windowsill and stared dreamily out the window. There wasn't much to see, actually, but something was calling me outside, much like that night when I went to visit the beach. I don't know what it was that made me want to go outside, but I was suddenly not tired anymore. Wrapping my bathrobe around me tightly, I quietly opened the door, managing not to wake my father up, despite the squeaking the door made when it swung on its hinges.

Luckily for me, my slippers softened my steps upon the wood floor, and I was able to make it out of the Inn virtually silent. Once outside though, I looked around, wondering what to do next. Watching the magic from my bedroom window made me want to be a part of it, but now that I was finally out here, there seemed to be nothing magical about this place at all.

But part of me knew that, of all the choices I had laid out before me, going back inside was not the one I wanted to choose. Which reminded me … there was another choice I had to make. And of the two options laid before me, I didn't know which one to choose.

Jack, or Cliff? The question swirled around my head, threatening to not leave until I made a choice. I started walking, not really paying attention to the direction I was going, as I was so busy concentrating on the answer I wanted to come up with.

There had to be a way around this, right? Maybe there was some way I could make the decision, but at the same time _not_ make the decision. I tried to find a way to put that logic into words in my mind. Maybe there was some way a decision could be made, but I wasn't the one making the decision …

The answer hit me like lightning. Of course! I slapped myself on the forehead for being so dumb. I would just wait and see which one came to me first!

"Duh!" I said out loud. My voice sounded strange as it broke the silence. I involuntarily clamped my hands over my mouth and looked around me suspiciously, not wanting to have let the world around me know that I wasn't in bed. After convincing myself that nothing was going to happen after my little outburst, I continued walking along the path I had started walking out of habit.

It was then that I really stopped to observe my surroundings. I was on … Jack's farm? I looked at the white building that stood to my right. It was the chicken coop. Why had I walked myself here? Realization came upon me, and I opened my mouth, as if I was saying, "Oh!" but no sound came out.

This was usually the shortcut I took to get to the Goddess Pond. I guess I was going there out of habit; after all, I visit the Goddess Pond every morning right after breakfast.

"That'll be a nice place to see at night," I whispered to myself out loud, and I continued toward the spring.

Once I got there, I sat down at the edge of the pond, taking note of how beautifully the stars reflected in the water. I was tempted to take off my slippers and go for a swim in the Goddess Pond, but it was a little too cold for that, and secondly, I didn't know if it was okay to go swimming in the Goddess Pond. After all, the townspeople all thought of it as a sacred place where the Harvest Goddess lived, and if it was, I didn't want to disturb anything. The farthest I got myself to go was reaching my hands down to run my fingers across the top of the spring.

At that moment, I heard quiet footsteps approaching me. I immediately turned around and watched the path that led up to the Goddess Spring, clutching my bathrobe even tighter around my body. The footsteps paused, as if hesitant to come any closer, and if I squinted, I could just make out a silhouetted figure in the distance.

"Who's there?" I said, barely daring to make my voice any louder than I had already spoken.

"Ann?" The figure spoke, but I didn't recognize the hushed voice.

"Who is it?" I said again, not feeling so scared after realizing that whoever it was knew my name.

"It's me," the figure said, coming just close enough for me to make out who it was.

"Jack!" I said, standing up. I started walking towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"I think I should ask _you _what you're doing here!" Jack said teasingly. I noticed he was holding a baseball bat. "I heard someone out on the farm, and I thought it might be a burglar or something, so I followed it. Ends up it was only you I guess," he said, letting the bat drop down by his side.

I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "But even if it was a burglar, why would you have bothered to follow it off your property? If it left, then you'd be fine."

"Well," he said, raising his free hand to scratch his head in embarrassment. "To be honest, after it started leaving my property I figured it wasn't a burglar. But I was curious to find out who it was, and, hey! I wasn't going to run back inside _just_ to put the bat back," he said sheepishly, raising his hands in a shrug, the bat almost acting as an extension of his arm.

"I see," I said, mulling the answer over in my head.

"Well," he said with a change of tone. "I told you what I was doing here. Now what are _you _doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep," I said, figuring it would be best not to tell him that I came out because the night seemed magical and it was 'calling' me. "And I decided to come here … because I usually come here every morning after breakfast, anyway. I wanted to see what it looked like at night."

"It is a pretty place," Jack said thoughtfully as he examined his nighttime surroundings. "What exactly do you do here every morning?"

"Well, nothing really, actually." I said, laughing a little bit. "It sounds kind of pointless, I know. But sometimes Popuri is here, and I'll talk with her … usually I just like looking at my reflection in the Goddess Pond."

"Goddess Pond?" Jack said, sounding thoroughly confused.

"The villagers here believe that the Harvest Goddess lives in that pond," I said, motioning toward the water that lay to my left. "She's kind of like the protector of this town, I guess, and she's the one to be grateful to if you have a good harvest." Since Jack didn't say anything, I decided to continue my description. "Some say that if you throw in an offering to the Goddess, she'll come out of the pond and answer any question you might have. Of course," I said laughing, "I've never heard of that actually happening. It's more like a legend." After having said that, I realized, though, that I _had _heard the Goddess talk before. She'd only said one word to me; "yes", but it still was concrete evidence of her existence. I decided not to tell Jack though. He probably already thought I was crazy.

"I see," he said without much enthusiasm. He paused. A second later he continued in a lighter tone, saying, "Well, I guess every town and village has its own story or legend. Makes living there more interesting, huh?"

"Especially in a place like this," I added.

He laughed in response. "Can't argue with that," he said.

"Why'd you move here if you thought living here would be boring?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't mind my forwardness.

"Good question," he said, sitting down in the grass, turning himself to face the Goddess Pond. I imitated what he was doing. "I guess to get away from it all. City life just wasn't for me. And after hearing stories of how much Jill loved her life on the farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley, well, it made me kind of want a place of my own."

"So you chose Mineral Town," I finished his story for him.

"It was the only place that had a farm for sale." He said, turning to look at me as he smiled. "Although I'm glad I chose this place."

"Why's that?" I said almost robotically, for at that point, I would have said anything to keep the conversation going. I liked the way he talked; the sound of his voice was somewhat soothing.

"Oh … I don't know," he said, but by the way he said it I could tell he _did_ know, he just didn't want to tell me. I told him what was on my mind. He laughed. "You're right, I do know why. I guess, I just …" he paused, looking for the right words. "Well, let's just say that one of the reasons I left the city was because of a broken heart. And here, I think I've found a way to mend it."

I didn't answer right away. I was trying to process what he had said. A broken heart? Had he had a girlfriend in the city who dumped him, and it left him devastated? A way to mend it … was he implying that he liked me? No, it couldn't be that. We'd barely even met each other. It could mean anything like, maybe, farming was his newfound passion and working on a farm would help him heal. That is what he meant, right?

Seeing as I wasn't exactly answering what he said, he started to stutter a little bit as he spoke, "I'm sorry. You probably … you know … have someone else anyway." I could tell he was getting ready to stand up, so I had to answer quickly.

"No, actually, I'm not involved with anyone right now." I laughed a little to lighten up the situation. "Couldn't you tell?"

He rested his weight back on the ground after starting to stand up. "No, I couldn't tell. I thought someone as pretty as you would surely have a boyfriend."

"You're just saying that," I said, feeling myself blush. I was glad it was dark out so that he couldn't tell when my face made that dramatic color change.

"No, I'm not just saying that," he said, and he sounded like he meant it, too. "When I first met you, I thought we'd be great friends. I could feel a connection right away, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get right back on my feet after what happened in the city." He paused, and I was surprised he was willing to tell me all of this so openly. His voice had quieted by the time he continued. "And me and Jill got to talking after you and Cliff left earlier today. She said some things that made me realize … if I liked you, I should say something now, and not wait around for someone else to take you." He took a deep breath. "So, I'm saying it now. Ann, I like you. A lot."

As surprised as I was at that moment to hear his confession, I was also somewhat relieved that he had let me know how he truly felt. I didn't realize my voice would sound so broken when I said the words back to him, "I - I like you, too."

He put his arm around me and gently kissed me on the cheek. He seemed suddenly very calm and relieved, like a great weight had been taken off his chest. And yet, I couldn't say I felt the same. Reluctantly, I laid my head on his shoulder, telling myself I should feel happy. After all, Jack was now officially my first real boyfriend. I should be excited, shouldn't I?

The decision I had to make between Cliff and Jack had been made, whether I was the one that made it or not. Jack got what he deserved; after all, he was the first one to come to me and admit his feelings. He won the race. And yet, at the same time, I couldn't help but feel maybe I should have more say in where this was going … maybe I should have taken control. I'd always done that before in my life, why hadn't I done it now?

I sighed inwardly, wondering if I would come to regret what had just taken place that night at the Goddess Pond.

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**Thanks for reading the chapter, now I look forward to reading your reviews!**


	17. A Plan of Their Own

**There you go, chapter 17! I said I'd try to get another chapter out either a little bit before or after Christmas, and here it is. Happy Almost-New-Year, everyone! Please review so I know what you think of this chapter. Speaking of reviews, thanks to everyone that has reviewed, both with the last chapter and any chapter at all! I love getting reviews from you guys, and they help keep me motivated to continue the story. Enjoy!

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**A Harvest Sprite's POV**

"Goddess, did you just see what happened?" I said as I scampered out from my hiding place behind the Hot Springs. "Those humans admitted their feelings to each other! And not just any humans -- the _wrong_ humans!" I couldn't believe she was letting this happen. The last time I talked with her, it sounded like she was going to make it the red head's destiny to end up with the traveler. And now she was allowing her to fall in love with the farmer? I shook my head as I waddled over to the Goddess' Spring. Maybe she just hadn't seen it happen. Maybe she was asleep or not paying attention. Of course I knew I was just making up excuses for her not intervening in the situation. The Goddess never missed _anything _that went on in this hum-drum town. It was somewhat calming to my overactive mind, though, if I told myself she merely hadn't been paying attention. She would fix it anyway, right?

"I saw it, Nappy," the Goddess said as she rose out of the pond, deciding to omit the customary flash of light that usually happens when she makes an appearance in the physical world.

"You … saw it?" I said, my ears drooping slightly. "So, you let it happen?" The Goddess didn't respond right away, so I kept talking. "They can't have made it far, Goddess!" I said, pointing my finger, though it was cloaked by my sleeve, in the direction that the red head and the farmer had taken. "Why don't you make the girl break it off or something? Or make her realize her true feelings for the traveler?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Nappy," the Goddess replied. "Everything that happens, happens for a reason. I know what I'm doing."

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked in another direction so the Goddess wouldn't see me roll my eyes. She thought she had control, didn't she? Well how come she didn't have control before, when the farmer and his cousin got involved in the first place?

"You disagree with me, Nappy?" the Goddess asked, looking in my direction. I winced, realizing that it's kind of hard to conceal one's true thoughts and feelings when in the presence of the Harvest Goddess.

"I just …" I said, looking for a way to justify my feelings. "I guess I'm just not following you. I have no idea where you're going with this."

She smiled gently, though I detected a hint of mischief, as she replied, "That's why _I'm _the Goddess, and _you're _my sprite."

**Jill's POV**

I woke up early the next morning, a little bit before 6 a.m. to be exact. Stretching as I sat up on the cot that I had been using as a bed, I glanced across the room to see Jack, still sound asleep in his bed. _Figures_, I thought as I climbed out and slid my feet into my slippers. He was probably still used to the city life, where he didn't have to get up until at least 7 a.m. Oh well, I decided I would make breakfast this morning and leave some for him if he wasn't up by 7:30.

As I walked across the room to go to the kitchen, I stopped and looked quietly at Jack. He looked really peaceful laying there, and he had a smile on his face. It made me want to laugh, the way he had that mushy expression carved in his countenance. I could only wonder, though, when I saw that he had a baseball bat propped up against his bed.

Humming quietly to myself as I scrambled some eggs and buttered some toast, I silently went over the "Make Cliff Jealous" plan that Jack and I had come up with last night before I went to bed. He seemed to be doing a pretty good job of making Ann jealous. Now all I had to do was motivate Cliff to win her back. Even the tomboyish type like Ann couldn't resist a guy who came riding in on a noble steed in order to rescue her. Hopefully any feelings that she did still harbor for Cliff, as small as they might be, would be fully realized when he fought for, and won, Ann.

Today Jack was going to casually ask Ann if she wanted to go to the beach with him to go fishing. If she wondered why, he was going to reply that they should continue their cooking lessons, and he wanted to learn how to make sushi. Then all I had to do was come up with some pointless job for Cliff to do that involved him going to the beach. As I mused the possibilities over, I decided to send him over to Zack's cabin so he could buy some seeds from Won and deliver them back to me. That way it would look like I was helping Jack out on the farm by getting him started with some crops, and Cliff would have to pass by Ann and Jack fishing on the dock. I smiled to myself as I threw the completed medley of eggs and toast onto a large plate. My plan was going to work perfectly.

After I ate my share of the breakfast, I placed the leftovers on the table where Jack could clearly see them, and left a note saying that I was headed over to the Inn to meet up with Ann and Cliff after I checked on the animals in the barn.

I sauntered outside, breathing in deeply as I took in the fresh air. Today was going to be a good day, I could just feel it. Opening the barn doors, I delightedly called out to the calf and the lamb. "Shelby!" I said, and the calf looked up at me. I paused as I tried to remember the lamb's name, but then realized that Jack hadn't named it yet; he was going to leave that up to Ann. I didn't know if she had named it yet or not, but if she did, she hadn't told me. So I just walked over to the lamb myself and took the brush in my hand, combing through her soft wool.

I was in the middle of brushing Shelby when the barn door suddenly opened behind me. Since I was expecting it to be Jack, I couldn't help but gasp a little when I saw Cliff walk through the doors.

"Cliff?" I said. "What are you doing here?" I looked into his eyes as he approached me. They were full of worry and I started to wonder what was going on. I didn't need to ask, though, because he started talking right away.

"It's Ann," he replied, stopping to lean against Shelby's feeding box. "When I woke up this morning and she served me breakfast, I asked if she wanted to do something fun today … like go on a picnic for lunch or something. She looked at me, all confused, and said, 'You mean, as a foursome? With Jack and Jill?' I said, 'No, I was thinking it could be just the two of us.'"

I nodded as I listened, wondering why this was such a bad thing. He'd just gotten up the courage to ask Ann out, after all!

"Then she looked all nervous and said, 'Well, sorry Cliff, but I can't. Me and Jack were going fishing today.'"

I continued to nod, but faltered slightly. Jack wasn't supposed to ask Ann to go fishing until later today. Unless he somehow asked her last night after I went to sleep. Well, it didn't really matter now. At least Cliff knew and seemed agitated … if not jealous.

"So I said, 'Oh. Maybe we can do something tomorrow then?' She only looked away and said, 'Actually, that won't work either.' And before I could say anything else, she kept talking. 'No other day will work for me. I'm kind of … kind of going out with Jack now. Like, we're a couple.'"

I could have sworn my heart stopped when he said those words. They weren't supposed to be an actual couple in order to get Cliff jealous. Just a couple flirtatious moments and dates would have worked well enough. And not even dates; more like half-dates, or quarter-dates or something. But Ann said they were a couple? Maybe Jack was trying to make sure that Cliff really got jealous. He _was _an over-achiever … or maybe Ann's mind was overreacting and she assumed that a simple fishing date meant they were a couple. There was another reason, I realized, but I didn't want to think about it. _Maybe … _the voice in my head said, for I couldn't stop it from speaking its opinion. _Maybe Jack and Ann really are going out now. Maybe he doesn't have the intention of giving her up to Cliff. _

I heard Cliff sigh as I snapped out of my thoughts and started paying attention to him again. "I don't know what I'm going to do, Jill," he said worriedly. "I'd always hoped that maybe Ann liked me the way I liked her," his face reddened a little bit as he spoke. "I - I don't know if you could tell. But I kind of like her a lot. And it took a lot of courage for me to ask her out like that. But now…" he sat down dejectedly on the stable's floor. "Now she's going out with Jack." I didn't say anything, because I was still trying to process in my mind why in the world Jack had done that. This caused Cliff to keep talking in order to break the awkward silence. He looked up at me with big, brown eyes, and said, "You gotta help me get her back somehow, Jill." He paused, and then said, "… Actually I never really had her in the first place. Maybe I should just move on…"

"No, don't do that, Cliff!" I said, leaning down to look at him. "Jack's the flirty type. He might just be messing with Ann, you know? I think you deserve her more."

Cliff gave me a strange look, obviously wondering why I was bad-mouthing Jack like that when he was my own cousin and all. "Well, if she really likes Jack, then why should I break them up? I don't even know if she likes me that way, anyway."

I decided leaning down was very uncomfortable, so I sat down next to Cliff and started talking. "I have a hunch that Ann likes you back. Just call it a woman's intuition." I paused, smiling as I saw the expression he made. But I continued talking before he could interrupt. "I'll help you get Ann back, don't worry. As long as I'm here, I'm on your side."

He smiled slightly, turning to look at me. "Thanks," he said. "But there's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"We only have until the end of the season. Ann's dad gave me a discount on my room so that I could stay for about a year, but the expenses are a little more than I had anticipated … if I don't get a job, I'll have to move on to another town, because there'd be nowhere else for me to stay here in Mineral Town."

"Well," I said, trying to sound optimistic. "I doubt it'll take that long. And if need be, we can find you a job during that time frame. Besides, I said you could help out on Jack's farm, remember?"

"Uh," he said, hesitating. "No offense to your cousin, Jill, but I don't think it'll be anything less than awkward for me to work on Jack's farm with him if I'm trying to steal his girlfriend."

I paused, realizing that what he said was very true. "Okay, you have a point on that one. But didn't Ann say you could work at the Inn?"

"She did," he said, "But I thought about that afterwards and realized that working at the Inn would only pay my rent off. I'd still need money to cover other personal expenses."

Wow, Cliff was smart, I thought to myself. Why in the world would Ann choose Jack over Cliff? The traveler was kind, intelligent, good with animals, caring, protective, loving … wait! _Stop it, Jill! _I told myself silently. _We can't have you thinking about Cliff like that. We're still trying to get Ann back with him, remember?_

"Well, Cliff," I said, standing up as he stood up as well. "I'm definitely going to help you out. For now, why don't you go back to the Inn for a little bit? You can come over to the farm while Jack and Ann go fishing, and we'll think of something then."

"Okay," he agreed. "Thanks a lot, Jill."

"No problem," I said as I watched him walk out of the barn door. Once he was gone, I muffled a scream as I stomped my feet angrily on the floor of the stable. No doubt Shelby and the lamb thought I was crazy when my face turned an unattractive shade of purple. Though I didn't say anything out loud, I was screaming in my mind.

_Jack you idiot! Why did you ask Ann out like that? What do you think you're doing? Are you forgetting the plan we had? Newsflash, Jack! Cliff isn't that dense! You don't need to go and make Ann your girlfriend to get Cliff jealous! It's not like he won't notice some shameless flirting!_

I calmed down as I tried breathing in and out to de-stress myself. It worked fairly well, and I walked over to the little lamb and ran my fingers through her smooth wool.

"Oh, Fluffy," I said, knowing that wasn't her name, and it wasn't a very creative one, either. But I felt the little critter needed something for me to call her by, and that was the first thing that came to mind. "What do you think Jack's up to, eh? Is he just trying extra hard to make Cliff jealous? Or do you think he's trying to make Ann his?"

Fluffy baa-ed in response, and gave me an inquisitive look. I smiled gently at her, and continued to run my fingers through her wool.

"If only you really could talk, girl. I'm sure you'd have all the answers to problems like this."

* * *

**That chapter was for anyone who has ever named one of their sheep in Harvest Moon "Fluffy". Not the most original name, I know, but I'm guilty of having used it before. -lol-**


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